Cineworld admissions rise but World Cup set to weigh

8th May 2014 08:47

More people have been watching movies at Cineworld this year, but the cinema chain said it was expecting to lose out during this summer's soccer World Cup.Cineworld said admissions at its UK & Ireland (UK&I) cinemas increased by 1.9% between December 27th and May 1st, while a 4.8% increase in average ticket prices fuelled a 6.8% rise in box office revenue.UK&I retail revenue rose 8.2% as people bought coffee from the 11 Starbucks outlets open during the period, compared to two last year.Other UK&I income also increased by 4.8% against a year ago as screen advertising picked up against a year earlier.Total group revenue rose 33.8% in the period, helped by a 14% rise in admissions in the chain's central European and Israel cinemas.Cineworld highlighted a strong line-up of films for the rest of the first half, including Godzilla, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Maleficent, which it expects to be popular across all territories.But it forecast the World Cup in June would have a negative impact on admissions as football fans stay at home to watch the games."The board remains confident of delivering a performance for the year as a whole in line with current market expectations," it said in a trading update.Shares rose 0.5p to 343p at 09:07 in London.PW