Cineworld has reported an increase in full year revenue and said it expects its profit for the year to be at the top end of market guidance, as its UK and Ireland business outperformed the wider market.
Total revenue for the 53 weeks to January 1 was up 5.2% year-on-year. On a 52-week comparison, group revenue rose 1.7% year-on-year.
For the UK & Ireland, total revenue in the 52-week period rose 1.8%, with box office receipts up 0.1%, retail income rising 2.3%, and other income contributing 14.8%. It said that retail spend per head rose 6.6% driven by the expansion across its estate of Starbucks and Baskin Robbins.
The rise in the box office revenue in the UK & Ireland came despite a 3.7% fall in admissions over the year, which was offset by a 4% increase in the average ticket selling price.
In its Central Europe and Israel business, total revenue increased 1.5%, boosted by a particularly strong performance in Poland.
Over the year, the group opened two new cinemas in the UK and two in Romania.
It is currently contracted to open a further 11 in the UK and 10 in its Central Europe and Israel business in 2015, 18 of which are under construction.
The group said it expects its 2015 performance to be robust on the back of a number of big upcoming releases, including ‘Avengers: The Age Of Ultron’, ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’, and the latest James Bond installment, ‘Spectre’.
