Thursday preview: Do not expect a blockbuster from Cineworld

17th Aug 2011 16:34

Though Cineworld's web site is vague about the date on which it will announce its interim results, broker Panmure Gordon seems confident that the cinema chain operator is due to report on Thursday.The broker is expecting earnings to be little changed from last year, with profit before tax of around £13.0m and earnings per share of 6.5p. Panmure Gordon has pencilled in a figure of 3.5p for the interim divi."Trading in the cinema industry as a whole appears to be remaining resilient. The latest statistics from the Cinema Exhibitors Association reported that UK Box Office Admissions were up c46% year-on-year in June to 12.7m, partly reflecting World Cup impacted comparatives but also the best performance since 2003," Panmure Gordon notes. "Year-to-date cinema admissions are now up 0.7%. We view this as a particularly resilient area of the leisure sector and, whilst discretionary expenditure levels remain a concern for UK consumers, we are confident that Cineworld will continue to perform well, given its focus on value orientated offering, reinforced by its low average spend per head (c£4-5 for ticket admission, although prices in London remain higher)," the broker continued. Underlining its "buy" recommendation and its 260p target price, Panmure Gordon said: "We believe Cineworld's average ticket price is still the lowest of all the majors, reinforcing its strong market position. The second half has a strong line-up of 2D and 3D films, although Q4 weighted." INTERIMS BATM Advanced Communications Ltd., London Capital Group Holdings, MHP SA GDR (Reg S), PV Crystalox Solar, Ruukki Group (DI), Skyepharma, Xaar INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE Duet Real Estate Finance Ltd, IDOX INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Bloomberg Consumer Confidence (US) (14:45) Consumer Price Index (US) (12:30) Continuing Claims (US) (12:30) Existing Home Sales (US) (15:00) Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30) Leading Indicators (US) (15:00) Philadelphia Fed Index (US) (15:00) Q2 Ruukki Group (DI) GMS Lancashire Holdings, Silvermere Energy EGMS BlackRock Absolute Return Strategies Ltd. EUR Shares, BlackRock Absolute Return Strategies Ltd. GBP Shares, BlackRock Absolute Return Strategies Ltd. USD Shares AGMS Meikles Ltd., Photonstar LED Group, Triad Group TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS Holidaybreak UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Internet Retail Sales (09:30) Retail Sales (09:30) INTERNATIONAL EARNINGS Foot Locker, GameStop, J M Smucker, Marvell Technology, Sears Holdings --jh