Cineworld saw 15% revenue growth and a 8.5% increase in box office revenues
Companies: Cineworld Group plc
The UK's second largest cinema chain, Cineworld Group Plc, announced a trading update for the period ended 10 November this morning, reporting strong revenue growth of 14.6%, (constant currency of 10.8%), and Box office revenue growth of 8.5%.
Admissions growth in the UK was modest, but the company reported double-digit growth in its worldwide operations. Several high profile films performed well in H2, with Bridget Jones' Baby exceeding expectations and Doctor Strange also performing strongly.
Cineworld recorded strong retail revenue growth of 14.1% on a constant currency basis, driven by the expansion of its retail offerings and encouraged by the variety of films and family films on offer to the public. The partnership with Starbucks appears to be performing well, too, with an additional four stores opening during H2, bringing the total to 23.
In H2, the group completed the acquisition of five cinemas from Cinema Holdings Ltd, including Leicester Square's iconic Empire theater. Cineworld has opened one site in the UK and one in Romania during the past 9 months, with two further cinemas due to open before the end of 2016.
It is worth noting that there are still two major releases to come this year, "Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them" and "Star Wars: Rogue One", making the Christmas period a busy one for the UK's second largest cinema chain.
Cineworld management says it remains confident full-year results will be in line with current expectations, news the market seemed to have received positively this morning as its share price increased 2.5% after falling 10% since mid-August.