Cineworld reports in-line half year trading - UPDATE

3rd Jul 2014 11:52

Cineworld Group on Thursday reported in-line trading for the 26 weeks ended June 26th, with revenue higher across most sectors and countries. On a pro-forma basis, overall Box Office revenues have increased by 1.5%, admissions were up by 1% and retail spend per person increased by 2.6%. There was a 2.5% decline in Other Income, which includes screen advertising, sponsorship and film distribution income, due to phasing of distribution incomes. Excluding this, Other Income increased by 3.2%. Notably, UK & Ireland Box Office turnover fell 0.6%, as anticiapted, due to the World Cup. "However, there is a strong film line-up during the third and fourth quarters, which is expected to mitigate this," the group said. "New releases at the start of the third quarter include the latest title from the Transformers franchise [...] and the new Marvel film, "Guardians of the Galaxy". Taking into account the strength of film line up in the second half, we are on track with our plans for the year as a whole." Investec said that based on the upcoming film releases it remained confident that the group would meet full year expectations, reiterating its 'buy' rating with a 400p target price. The share price rose 1.19% to 341p by 12:38. NR