More action at Cineworld as sales grow

A record 308 million people visited the Cineworld’s cinemas in 2018, generating revenue growth of 7.2% on a pro-forma basis.

The Group is on track to deliver a performance for the year in line with its current expectations.

• On a pro-forma basis, Group admissions increased by 2.6% compared with the prior year to reach 308m. The growth was driven by a strong film slate in the US, the positive impact of the ongoing refurbishment programme and the continued roll-out of our premium formats.
• US revenue grew by 8.6%, driven by a record year for the box office. The strength in the US market was driven by the success of “Black Panther”, “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Incredibles 2”. The growth in admissions compared with the prior year benefitted each of the Group’s revenue streams.
• UK & Ireland revenue grew by 3.0% (-0.6% on a constant currency basis). As expected, revenue growth was impacted by the strength of the comparable film slate in 2017, particularly “Star Wars”. The highest grossing films for the year in the UK were “Avengers: Infinity War”, “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!” and “Incredibles 2”.
• ROW revenue grew by 3.1%, flat on a constant currency basis. Locally produced films performed well, especially in Poland where “Kler” and “Kobiety mafii” were the top grossing films for the year.

During 2018 the Group continued to expand and opened 13 new sites (108 screens), six in the US, six in the UK and one in Romania. In line with the Group’s strategy, the existing estate was improved by an active refurbishment programme with four sites completed in the UK. 14 of the Group’s sites were closed (11 in the US, one in the UK, two in ROW). The total number of sites in the Group at 31 December 2018 is 790 with 9,518 screens.

Investment in the latest technology continues to be a key pillar of the Group’s strategy. During 2018, the Group announced new agreements with IMAX, 4DX and ScreenX and plan to install a total of 55 new IMAX Laser projectors, 80 new 4DX screens in the US and 100 new ScreenX auditoriums. In 2018, 19 ScreenX and 9 4DX were opened across the estate.