Toy Story 3 lifts Cineworld revenues, share price up on FTSE All Share
Shares in Cineworld were up on the FTSE All Share in afternoon trading after the group said it had seen strong revenue growth in the 42 week period ended 21 October.
The group said that total revenue in the period had risen 8.5 per cent. Box Office retail increased 8.3 per cent, Retail revenue climbed 1.5 per cent while Other Income jumped 43.8 per cent, thanks in part to strong sales of 3D glasses.
Cineworld said that the second half of the year had been aided by successful films such as "Shrek Forever After (3D)", "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" and "Toy Story 3". The group is also looking forward to the final quarter with releases such as "Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows 1", "Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and "Tron" expected to do well.
"Toy Story 3" performed particularly well with the film grossing more than £70 million in Britain and Ireland so far this year.
The group said that it was making "encouraging progress" compared with the previous year in the screen advertising market, which it claims is showing "growing signs of recovery".
Cineworld is currently investing in digital technology, with over half of the group's 801 screens expected to be digital (and mostly 3D capable) by the end of January 2011.
In an outlook statement Cineworld said it expected full year results to be "at least" in line with prior guidance.
Keith Bowman, Equity Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, commented, "Cineworld continues to report progress, aided by a strong release schedule. A move toward 3D films has played an important part, while the sale of additional items such as 3D glasses and an upturn in the advertising market has provided additional tailwinds.
"As previously highlighted by management, a family visit to the cinema continues to be perceived as relatively good value. The group's investment in technology, conservative expansion and exposure to an improving advertising market provide potential earnings growth, whilst its cash generative nature underpins a progressive dividend policy - as such, market consensus opinion currently denotes a strong buy."
By 16:45 shares in Cineworld were up 3.85 per cent on the FTSE All Share to 216.00 pence per share.
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