Cineworld shares slide as UK revenue growth lags behind the US
Shares in cinema chain Cineworld dropped almost six per cent today after it said its UK and Ireland revenue lagged behind the US in the year to 11 November.
The cinema chain’s overall revenue growth was 11.6 per cent, an increase of 5.9 per cent on the year before.
But revenue growth in the UK and Ireland was 7.1 per cent, dipping to 2.1 per cent adjusting for currency.
Cineworld said a string of successful films such as Black Panther and Ant-Man and the Wasp boosted its revenue in the US.
But this was counteracted by sluggish figures for the UK and Ireland, despite an uplift in the second half of the year thanks to Mammia Mia! Here We Go Again and Bohemian Rhapsody.
In March Cineworld completed a deal to buy Regal Entertainment Group for $3.4bn (£2.6bn), making it the second-largest cinema chain in the world behind AMC Theatres.
Broker Peel Hunt said: “Trading has remained strong in the US and management remains confident of fully achieving its synergy target from Regal.
“For this year, these factors outweigh the impact of the UK and mainland Europe trading slightly behind as well as a rising cost of debt.”
But Cineworld shares were down almost six per cent today following the results.
Nisan Cohen, Cineworld chief financial officer, said: “We’re delighted with the strong performance year to date, led by a strong US turnout and with a second-half uplift in the UK and Europe.
“The integration is on track, including plans for renovation and opening new sites, and we look forward to providing further updates in due course.”
The company said its plans for Regal are “progressing well” and that there are a number of exciting releases for the remainder of the year. It said its forecast for full-year results remains in line with expectations.