Cineworld poised to meet full year forecasts

Cinema chain Cineworld said it expects 2012 profit to be in line with forecasts despite distractions from the Diamond Jubilee, Olympics and European Football Championship.

As expected, the full year was weighted towards the fourth quarter as moviegoers flocked to see the latest Bond movie Skyfall which, to date, has grossed over £100m in the UK.

Other strong film performances in the quarter included Twilight: Breaking Dawn part 2 and The Hobbit.

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Total revenue at Cineworld for the 52 weeks ended December 27th, excluding Picturehouse, rose 2.4%. Box office was boosted by a higher average ticket price, up 5% from the same period a year earlier. Admission fell by 1.1%.

Spend per person for the year increased by 1.9% compared with the previous year.

Overall box office market share in UK/Ireland was maintained at 24.7% for the year versus 24.8% in 2011.

The decline in other income was due to the removal of the booking fee and comparatively lower 3D glasses sales, after fewer 3D films were shown in the period. Screen advertising revenues were marginally ahead as compared with the prior year, the group explained.

Cineworld's film release programme for 2013 includes Les Miserables, Star Trek, Iron Man 3 and The Hobbit part 2.

"With our plans for continued expansion, we look forward to delivering further value to shareholders in the forthcoming year," it said.

CJ