Cineworld posts strong growth as it continues to expand

The FTSE 250 company said box office revenues increased by 8.5% on a constant currency basis.

Admissions grew satisfactorily in both the UK & Ireland and the Rest of World, with double digit growth being achieved in the ROW.

The board said family titles such as ‘The Secret Life of Pets’, ‘Finding Dory’, ‘The BFG’ and ‘Trolls’ performed well during the second half of the year.

‘Bridget Jones's Baby’, which was released in September, exceeded expectations, and the recently opened ‘Doctor Strange’ was said to be performing strongly.

“The pleasing growth in retail revenues of 14.1% on a constant currency basis was driven by both the nature of the film mix, with more family films, and the continued expansion of retail offerings,” Cineworld’s board said in the statement.

“This included the opening of four additional Starbucks sites during the second half of the year taking the total number in the estate to 23.

“The group has also opened its second VIP Experience in the UK in Glasgow, and its second in Romania, in the new site Bucharest Titan.”

Cineworld said the increased admissions for the year to date also contributed towards a 16.5% increase increase in the ‘Other Income’ revenue stream.

“The group continues to offer the latest technology, evidenced by the opening of seven 4DX screens and two IMAX screens during the year.

“This will further enhance the group's premium offerings for its customers and ensure that the group continues to deliver a great cinema experience.”

During the second half of the year, Cineworld successfully completed the acquisition of the five Empire cinemas from Cinema Holdings Limited, including the iconic Empire Leicester Square, which Cineworld said demonstrated its continued organic growth and refurbishment strategy.

The group has opened one site in the UK - the seven-screen Dalton Park - and one site in Romania - the 14-screen Bucharest Titan - during the period.

In the UK, a six-screen complex at Harlow and in Romania, another six-screen complex at Piatra Neamt are scheduled to open before the year end.

Cineworld said it also continued its modernisation programme with four major refurbishments completed in the UK at Crawley, Stevenage, Glasgow Renfrew Street and Birmingham Broad Street, and three in the Rest of World at AuPark and Polus in Slovakia, and Compana in Hungary.

As part of the group's estate management programme two sites in the UK at Staples Corner and Liverpool, one in Romania at Arad GTC, and one in Hungary at Mammut have been closed.

“Two major releases of the year still to come are ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them’ which opens in the UK on 18 November and ‘Star Wars: Rogue One’ which opens in the UK on 15 December.

“The group remain confident of delivering results for the year in line with current market expectations,” the board said.