11th Mar 2022 18:06
(Alliance News) - Cineworld PLC's 2021 performance will be scrutinised by investors next week as the cinema chain attempts to recover from the hefty blow dealt by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cineworld will report annual results on Thursday next week. The stock is down 66% over the past year.
As restrictions eased at the end of last year, the return of bigger audiences is expected to have helped revenue more than double at Cineworld, although the chain is still expected to post another loss as it continues its post-Covid recovery.
The world's second largest cinema chain, behind US-based AMC, was hit particularly hard by the pandemic restrictions as it also tackled its substantial debt burden.
Separately, in December, Cineworld shares dropped after it was ordered to pay CAD1.23 billion by a court after it decided not to go through with a takeover of Canadian rival Cineplex as the pandemic broke out.
However, the latest James Bond film, No Time To Die, which smashed UK box office records on its opening weekend, is expected to have given Cineworld a boost. Further, audiences also flocked to see the latest Spider-Man film, No Way Home, as it became the first film since Covid broke to take more than USD1 billion globally.
However, investors will be keen to see how 2022 started as a number of films including Marvel spin-off Morbius saw release dates pushed back.
Shareholders will also expect Cineworld to reveal how the year's first big blockbuster, The Batman, performed over its opening weeks and how this would translate to the company's earnings.
The Batman ruled the UK & Ireland box office, debuting at pole position with GBP13.5 million, according to numbers released by Comscore.
"2021 was another year disrupted by Covid restrictions, but the latest Spiderman film proved to be a big hit at the box office and should have given cinema operators a boost both in terms of earnings and public sentiment towards going to the big screen.
"The market will be very interested to know how Cineworld's trading has been so far in 2022. We've had two years of getting used to watching films on streaming platforms - it could be hard to wean people off this habit," AJ Bell's Russ Mould said.
"This year hasn't seen any big blockbuster films released apart from The Batman, so one can only assume that Cineworld will provide optimistic comment mainly based on hope for titles released later this year, such as the latest in the Jurassic Park, Doctor Strange and Minions franchises, rather than celebrate ticket and popcorn sales year to date," Mould added.
By Arvind Bhunjun; [email protected]
Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
CINE.L