Cineworld revenue rises but facing tough Q4

22nd Oct 2013 07:36

Cinema group Cineworld boosted revenue but said it was facing a challenge in the fourth quarter to match the success last year of Bond film Skyfall.Cineworld lifted revenue in the 16 weeks to October 17th by 11%, with box office revenue up by 8.1% and retail revenue rising by 12.1%.The positive performance earlier in the year continued into the third quarter, particularly as the same quarter last year was weaker due to the impact of the Olympics.It said it had a good fourth quarter line-up of films and was expecting strong box office performances from titles such as Thor: The Dark World, Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.However, the group added: "In contrast to the third quarter, the group has a considerably more challenging fourth quarter comparative due to the phenomenal success of Skyfall last year."As a result, we expect our results to be broadly in line with current market expectations for the full year."Cineworld Cinemas' revenue increased 1.4% on the back of a 2.3% rise in admissions, but it said a higher proportion of lower priced family films over the summer, most notably Despicable Me 2, resulted in average ticket price declining by 0.9%.Retail promotions over the summer months helped drive volume and resulted in overall growth against the same 16 week period last year, but there was a slightly lower spend per person.The group said recently acquired Picturehouse continued to trade well and posted increased box office and retail revenues, although regulators are forcing the group to dispose of one cinema in each of Aberdeen, Bury St Edmunds and Cambridge.PW