Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 5328G

Cineworld Group plc

08 May 2014

 



CINEWORLD GROUP PLC
Interim Management Statement

Cineworld Group plc is pleased to provide the following update on trading performance for the 18 week period from 27 December 2013 to 1 May 2014.

Revenues for the 18 weeks to 1 May 2014 were as follows:

	Cineworld Group % change vs. prior year	UK & Ireland % change vs. prior year	CEE(1) & Israel proforma(2) % change vs. prior year(3)
Total revenues	+33.8%	+7.0%	+8.9%
Box Office	+29.3%	+6.8%	+12.2%
Retail	+33.8%	+8.2%	+15.4%
Other Income	+79.1%	+4.8%	-7.5%

(1) CEE is defined as Central and Eastern Europe and includes Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Slovakia.
(2) Proforma reflects the 18 week year on year performance of Cinema City which became part of the Cineworld World group on 1 March 2014.
(3) % change vs. prior year for CEE & Israel presented on a constant currency basis. Where relevant, % set out below are presented on an actual currency basis.

Overall, trading for the Group for the period has been in line with expectations. Box office revenues have increased by 8.6% and admissions have increased by 6.8% compared to the comparative period on a pro forma basis. 

UK & lreland
The Group's box office market share (Source: Rentrak) in the UK and Ireland has increased to 27.6% from 26.9% in the same period last year.  The growth in box office revenues was due to a rise in average ticket price of 4.8%, combined with an increase in admissions of 1.9%.  The increase in retail revenue performance in the period was due to an upward trend in spend per person, which increased by 6.1%, benefitting from the positive contribution of the eleven Starbucks outlets which were open in the current period compared to two in the comparative period.

The increase in Other Income is due to the comparatively stronger performance of screen advertising compared to the corresponding period last year.

CEE & Israel
Admissions in the region increased by 14.0% compared to the same period last year.  This resulted in an increase in box office revenues of 12.2%.  Admissions in the largest territory in the region, Poland, increased by 7.4% following the success of "Jack Strong" and "Pod Mocnym Aniolem", both Polish titles.  Romania achieved the highest growth rate of 42.8% supported by the opening of 14 new screens over the last twelve months.  Overall, retail revenues increased by 15.4% and other income declined by 7.5% compared to the comparative period. Other income includes screen advertising, sponsorship and film distribution income.  The decline in other income is attributable to the phasing of distribution incomes, excluding which other income increased by 4.4%.

Outlook
The Board remains confident of delivering a performance for the year as a whole in line with current market expectations. There is a strong line-up of films for the remainder of the first half, including "Godzilla", "X-Men: Days of Future Past" and "Maleficent" which are expected to be popular across all territories and open ahead of the World Cup in June, which is anticipated to have a negative impact on admissions during the course of the event.  The Group opened a six screen cinema in Ploiesti, Romania in April.  A six screen cinema is scheduled to open in St Neots, UK this month with a further 64 screens planned across the group in the second half of the year.

Notes to editors

About Cineworld Group plc
Cineworld Group plc was founded in 1995 and listed its shares on the London Stock Exchange in May 2007. 

The company has grown organically and by acquisition to become one of the leading cinema groups in Europe with the number one or number two position by number of screens in each of its regions.  Cineworld currently operates 1858 screens across 202 sites in the UK and Ireland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Israel.

Contacts

Philip Bowcock                    [phone]    Elly Williamson                     [phone]
Chief Financial Officer                                                       Associate Partner
Cineworld Group plc                                                           Bell Pottinger

 

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