Trading Statement

RNS Number : 1526P

Cineworld Group plc

15 November 2016

 

15 November 2016

CINEWORLD GROUP PLC
Trading Update

Cineworld Group plc (the "Group") announces the following trading update.

Revenues for the 45 weeks to 10 November 2016 were as follows:

	Cineworld Group % change vs. prior period(1)	UK & Ireland % change vs. prior period	ROW(2) % change vs. prior period(1)
Total revenues	10.8%	8.4%	15.0%
Box Office	8.5%	5.5%	14.6%
Retail	14.1%	11.0%	19.6%
Other Income	16.5%	24.1%	10.4%

(1) In the table above, to provide information on a comparable basis, the % change is presented on a constant currency basis. On the basis of actual exchange rates, the total revenues increased by an amount of 14.6% (compared to the 10.8% increase on a constant currency basis).
(2) ROW is defined as Rest of the World and includes Poland, Hungary, Israel, Romania, Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Slovakia.

For the 45 week period ended 10 November 2016 the Group achieved strong revenue growth of 14.6%, with constant currency revenue growth of 10.8%. Box office revenues increased by 8.5% on a constant currency basis. Admissions grew satisfactorily in both the UK & Ireland and the ROW, with double digit growth being achieved in the ROW.  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" is 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. 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. The increased admissions for the year to date also contributed towards the 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 the Group successfully completed the acquisition of the five Empire cinemas from Cinema Holdings Limited, including the iconic Empire Leicester Square demonstrating the Group's continued organic growth and refurbishment strategy. The Group has opened one site in the UK, Dalton Park (7 screens) and one site in Romania, Bucharest Titan (14 screens). In the UK, Harlow (6 screens) and in Romania, Piatra Neamt (6 screens) are scheduled to open before the year end. The Group 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 ROW, AuPark and Polus in Slovakia, and Compana in Hungary. As part of the Group's estate management programme two sites in the UK (Staples Corner and Liverpool), one in Romania (Arad GTC) and one in Hungary (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.

Contacts

Cineworld Group plc		Bell Pottinger
Dean Moore	020 8987 5000	Elly Williamson	020 3772 2573
Nisan Cohen	020 8987 5000	Zara de Belder	020 3772 2573

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 2,103 screens across 224 sites in the UK, Ireland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Israel.

 

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