26th Nov 2013 11:01
LONDON (Alliance News) - Pinewood Shepperton PLC, owner of Pinewood Studios, saw its half-year revenues rise but cautioned it will need more studios and facilities in order to continue growing the UK's share of the global film and television production market.
In the half year ended September 30, the company posted revenue of GBP36.6 million, up from GBP27.1 million.
Pretax profit, however, almost halved to GBP1.6 million from GBP3.0 million in the previous year. Pinewood said the operating loss from its investment in film production companies widened to GB2.3 million in the recent half, from GBP397,000 a year before, due to a write-off of GBP2.5 million in costs related to a failed attempt to gain local planning approval for the expansion of its studios.
However, a UK Film Tax Relief of GBP2.4 million during the half year brought the company's post tax profit to GBP3.4 million, up from GBP2.0 million. Film production companies are eligible for Film Tax Relief provided that they can pass a cultural test, which requires amongst other things, 25% of film-production costs are incurred in the UK.
In Pinewood's Film segment, revenues were GBP19.6 million, up from GBP18.9 million, as the company continued to see high demand from large productions such as Disney's 'Cinderella' and Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy'. However, Pinewood said that it has struggled to accommodate some film productions, and also some high-end television productions hoping to take advantage of newly introduced tax incentives.
The company recently completed the construction of a new 45,000 square foot studio facility at its Pinewood Studio. Pinewood put forward plans to further expand the studio, but in May, Pinewood's planning application was rejected by the South Bucks District Planning Committee, the local planning authority. Pinewood has since lodged an appeal against the decision, and a public inquiry started on November 19.
The company said that in order to continue growing the UK's share of global film and television production, it needs more studios and related facilities.
In Pinewood's Television segment, revenues rose to GBP3.2 million from GBP2.5 million as it saw new and repeat business from shows such as the BBC's 'The Voice' and ITV's 'Keith Lemon Through the Keyhole'. Its Media Investment business saw revenues rise to GBP11.2 million from GBP2.7 million as it co-invested in several UK independent films.
Pinewood said it would pay an interim dividend of 0.6 pence per share, up from 0.5 pence.
Shares in Pinewood were trading down 1.8% at 302.00 pence Tuesday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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