Cineworld, UK’s largest cinema operator by market share, has reported a 24.1% increase in pre-tax profit rose 24.1% for the 26 weeks to 27 June rose to £16.5m.
Group revenue stood at £201.6m versus £165.4m the year before. The company said that revenue growth was driven by an increased in box office receipts, up 10.5% at £131m and by a rise in average ticket prices £5.39 versus £5.15.
Net debt reduced by £6.4m from £126.9m in December 2012 to £120.5m.
Retail revenue was 9.7% higher than the previous year. Retail spend per person increased from £1.65 in the previous year to £1.72 during the period, partly due to the film mix, but also reflecting the expansion of the group’s retail offering which has been strengthened during the last 12 months with the introduction of two new Starbucks units.
During the second half of the year, the group is is scheduled to open a new nine-screen cinema at the Wembley development, a ten-screen replacement cinema in Gloucester and launch the existing IMAX cinema at the GSC as a Cineworld cinema.
It said that due to delays in construction, its new six-screen cinema in St Neots will now be opened in early 2014, with new cinemas in Broughton (Chester), Swindon and Telford scheduled to follow later in the year. There is also at least one further site scheduled for opening in 2014 which is yet to be announced. The development of two further sites at Speke and Silverburn, which are scheduled for opening during 2015, was also announced during the period.
The group said that its development pipeline for the coming years remains strong and it is on target to open a further 20 cinemas by the end of 2017.
Cineworld, which operates more than 80 sites across the UK, said trading was ahead of last year but added that it will have a comparatively tougher fourth quarter this year due to the success of the James Bond film Skyfall last year.
Stephen Wiener, chief executive, said: “We are pleased to announce solid first half results both in revenue and EBITDA growth. Once again our results show that cinema is a resilient investment in challenging economic times with a number of growth opportunities. We have maintained our position as the leading cinema operator in both the UK and the UK and Ireland combined.
“Since the end of the first half we also surpassed important milestones for both our Unlimited and MyCineworld schemes, with now over 350,000 Unlimited subscribers and 3.0 million MyCineworld members. The current trading performance, together with a reduction in net debt since the end of 2012, means that the Group remains in a sound financial position to fund continued growth. Against this backdrop, we have again increased the interim dividend to our shareholders.
“There is a strong film line up for the second half including key titles: “Despicable Me 2”; “Monsters University”; and “The Wolverine”. In the third quarter there are weaker comparatives due to the impact of the London Olympics on scheduling last year. By contrast, there is a tougher fourth quarter comparative due to the phenomenal success of Skyfall. The strength of the film line up in the second half, coupled with our solid first half performance, underpins our confidence that we are on track with our plans for the full year.”
