Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 0263R

Cineworld Group plc

22 October 2013

 



CINEWORLD GROUP PLC
Interim Management Statement

Cineworld Group plc is pleased to provide the following update on trading performance for the 16 week period from 28 June to 17 October 2013.

Revenues for the period were as follows:

	% change vs. same period 2012
	42 WEEKS TO 17 OCTOBER 2013
	Cineworld Group			Cineworld Cinemas			Picturehouse proforma1
	16 Weeks to 17 Oct	42 weeks to 17 Oct		16 Weeks to 17 Oct	42 weeks to 17 Oct		16 Weeks to 17 Oct	42 weeks to 17 Oct
Total Revenues	11.0%	17.7%		1.7%	7.1%		30.6%	10.2%
Box Office	8.1%	14.7%		1.4%	7.0%		12.3%	10.2%
Retail	12.1%	18.0%		1.1%	6.3%		17.3%	14.8%
Other Income	43.8%	56.7%		7.3%	11.9%		(19.5)%	5.3%

Cineworld Cinemas market share in the 16 week period was 25.9%, an increase of 0.9% pts compared to the same period last year. Year to date market share is 25.5% (2012 : 25.0%). Cineworld Group market share year to date was 27.4% (2012 profoma : 26.7%).

In the 16 weeks, Cineworld Cinemas' box office increased by 1.4% driven by admissions which increased by 2.3%. The higher proportion of lower-priced family orientated films over the summer period, (most notably Despicable Me 2 which is the highest grossing film of the year so far) resulted in average ticket price declining by 0.9%.

Retail promotional activities over the summer months helped drive volume and resulted in overall growth against the corresponding 16 week period last year, albeit at a slightly lower spend per person.

The growth in Other Income reflects the continuing positive performance of screen advertising compared to the corresponding period last year.

Picturehouse continues to trade well and posted increased box office and retail revenues. The decrease in Other Income is due to the timing of film distribution income.

During the second half of the year we have reopened the IMAX at the Glasgow Science Centre as a Cineworld Cinema.  As planned we are scheduled to open our new nine-screen cinema at Wembley before the end of October and our ten-screen replacement cinema at Gloucester at the start of December. We are on track to open a further four cinemas in 2014.

On 8 October 2013, the Competition Commission published their final decision on the acquisition of Picturehouse resulting in the requirement to dispose of one cinema in each of Aberdeen, Bury St Edmunds and Cambridge. A decision has been made to dispose of the Picturehouse cinemas in Aberdeen and Bury St Edmunds.  No decision has yet been made in respect of Cambridge.

The positive start to the year continued into Q3 where there were weaker comparatives due to the impact of the London Olympics on scheduling last year.  Looking forward to Q4, the film line up for the remainder of the year is promising, with strong box office performances anticipated from the key titles including "Thor: The Dark World", "Hunger Games: Catching Fire" and "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug". In contrast to Q3, the Group has a considerably more challenging Q4 comparative due to the phenomenal success of "Skyfall" last year. As a result, we expect our results to be broadly in line with current market expectations for the full year.

¹ Picturehouse proforma reflects the year on year performance of the acquired business
² Refers to UK/Ireland market by gross box office - data per Rentrak

-Ends-

For further information:

Cineworld Group plc	020 8987 5000		Bell Pottinger	020 7861 2840/2861
Philip Bowcock			Elly Williamson/Charlotte Offredi

 

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