3rd Jul 2014 09:56
LONDON (Alliance News) - Cineworld Group PLC Thursday said revenue grew by a third in the first half of the year thanks to the recent acquisition of Cinema City, and while the football World Cup had hit cinema admissions in recent weeks, it is positive for the second half of the year due to upcoming film releases.
The cinema chain - which operates under the brands Cineworld, Picturehouse, Cinema City, and Yes Planet - said total revenue grew more than 33% in the 26 weeks to June 26, boosted by the acquisition of more cinemas, particularly the recent acquisition of Cinema City.
Revenue in its UK and Ireland business grew 0.1%, while revenue outside those countries, excluding the acquisition of Cinema City, grew 4%, buoyed by an increase in admissions and retail spend per customer.
The company said that, as expected, cinema ticket sales towards the end of the period were held back by the World Cup, as people opted to watch the football rather than head to the cinema.
"In the final weeks of the half, as expected, admissions in certain countries have been lower due to the World Cup when compared to the same prior year period, which has contributed to a decline in box office revenues; however there is a strong film line-up during the third and fourth quarter which is expected to mitigate this," Cineworld said in a statement.
Cineworld said it expects to see a trading boost from new releases later this year, including the Transformers franchise "Transformers: Age of Extinction" and the new Marvel film "Guardians of the Galaxy".
"Taking into account the strength of film line up in the second half, we are on track with our plans for the year as a whole," the company said.
Analysts at Investec also remain confident in the group's growth prospects.
"Given the third and fourth quarter film release skew, we remain confident in full year expectations. Cineworld continues to outperform the UK market... and admissions still look strong," they said in a research note Thursday.
The company said it will publish its results for the first half of the year on August 14.
Cineworld shares were up 0.9% Thursday morning, trading at 340.00 pence.
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; [email protected]; @rharrisdoughty
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