12th Aug 2021 09:35
(Alliance News) - Cineworld Group PLC on Thursday said its loss narrowed in the first half of 2021, as the UK company considers listing in the US.
The Brentford, west London-based movie house chain, which operates in ten countries, booked a pretax loss of USD576.4 million in the six months ended June 30, narrowing from USD1.64 billion in the same period last year.
Interim revenue was down by 59% at USD292.8 million from USD712.4 million a year before, a period that included some time pre-pandemic.
Shares in Cineworld were up 8.2% at 66.28 pence in London on Thursday morning trading, the top gainer in the FTSE 250 index by some margin.
Cineworld said it was mulling a listing of itself or a partial listing of its US movie theatre business Regal Entertainment on Wall Street, pointing to US equity capital markets as the "largest and most liquid" in the world as rationale for the move.
Cineworld acquired Regal in 2018 for USD3.6 billion, making it the second largest global cinema chain behind AMC Entertainment, which has a market capitalisation of USD15.83 billion.
Cineworld's market value currently stands at just GBP898.9 million, following a pandemic-driven tumble over the past year.
"US equity capital markets are the largest and most liquid in the world and include a large number of publicly listed cinema companies including peer group companies," said Chief executive Moshe Greidinger.
"These companies are typically covered by a significant number of North American equity analysts with a wide domestic investor following. The board is therefore considering options to maximise shareholder value now and into the future by accessing this liquidity."
Cineworld management will evaluate the business move in the coming months.
The firm declared no interim dividend, in line with last year.
Looking forward, Cineworld expects strong trading in the fourth quarter due to a strong film slate and pent-up demand.
"With cinemas now open, limited capacity constraints and a strong content pipeline, Cineworld is hoping for a strong recovery in Q4," Third Bridge Senior Analyst Harry Barnick.
"However, some estimates suggest that box office revenues will be 10% lower post-Covid permanently as customers have grown accustomed to watching films at home, studios have shortened the theatrical window and exhibitors have permanently closed the curtains on unprofitable cinemas."
By Josie O'Brien; [email protected]
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