Cineworld 1H Sales Up 3.7% On 3D Boost; 2H Slate "Promising"

30th Jun 2010 07:37

LONDON (Dow Jones)--U.K. cinema company Cineworld Group PLC (CINE.LN) Wednesday posted a 3.7% rise in first-half sales on the year, boosted by the release of 3D blockbusters like Avatar and Alice In Wonderland, and said it expects to benefit from a significant number of 3D releases in the second half. Cineworld's box office sales rose 4.1% on the year in the 26 weeks to July 1, with films like Iron Man 2 and Sex and the City 2 also proving popular with customers. Revenue from "other income" streams, which mainly comprises screen advertising, ticket booking fees, screen hires, games machine income and the sale of 3D glasses, soared 31.4%, Cineworld said. The firm said it is pleased with the overall level of sales growth in the half, given that visitors to its cinemas have fallen during the soccer World Cup tournament. It said the line up of releases in the second half looks "promising," with a significant number of movies--like Toy Story 3--to be screened in 3D. Cineworld recently announced a deal with Arts Alliance Media to rollout digital projection facilities across its screens in the U.K. and Ireland within three years. -By Hannah Benjamin, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9298; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 30, 2010 02:37 ET (06:37 GMT)