Cineworld reports revenue growth for first half of 2012 as MyCineworld registrations grow by nearly half
Cinema chain Cineworld has reported revenue growth to £165.4m for the first half of 2012, while its MyCineworld membership scheme has also seen a major increase in registrations in recent months.
The company saw group revenue reach £348m last year, with continued growth achieved this year through an increase in Box Office receipts by 4.1 percent to £1118.6m, meaning an operating profit increase of 21.5 percent to £15.8m.
The group’s Unlimited subscriber base has also increased to over 300,000 members, with a 48 per cent increase in registrations to MyCineworld, reach under 1.5m in three months since the decision to remove online booking fees was announced in March.
Stephen Wiener, CEO of Cineworld Group, said: "We are pleased to announce solid first half results both in revenue and EBITDA growth. Once again our results show that cinema is a resilient investment in challenging economic times. We became the first, and still are the only cinema operator in the UK which does not charge its customers a booking fee and gave the added benefit of a 10% reduction for all on-line bookings made via our innovative MyCineworld portal. As a result we have seen almost 50% growth in the MyCineworld membership base in the 3 months since March 2012. The current trading performance, together with a reduction in net debt, means that the Group remains in a sound financial position to fund continued growth. Against this backdrop, we have again increased the interim dividend to our shareholders.”