Cineworld shares were trading up 4.5% at 38p after the cinema operator reported a $1bn increase in group revenue.
The group’s revenue soared from $852m in 2020 to $1.8bn in 2021 despite location closures due to covid restrictions.
In 2021, box office sales contributed $955m followed by retail contributing $552m.
A substantial amount of $296m was received in revenue from other income which is mainly on-screen advertising and booking fees.
Pre-pandemic revenue was $4.3bn leaving the group in a position to rethink their strategy on how to recover from the consequences of lockdowns.
Covid-19 caused closures of public venues such as Cineworld and thus the results include impact of the restrictions between January to May 2021.
Group adjusted EBITDA was $454m in 2021 after a loss of $115m in 2020. The company restructured their labour policy, renegotiated contracts and controlled their expenses in an attempt to reduce their losses incurred by the pandemic.
Out-of-home entertainment saw an increase in demand with ease of restrictions after the pandemic resulting in Cineworld admissions increasing 75% to 95.3m in 2021.
Operating profits was $15m in 2021 as opposed to losses of $2.2bn were set in 2020.
A net reversal of impairment charges of $127m in 2021 was a big contributor to a swing in operating profits following charges of $1.3bn in 2020.
Cineworld’s net financing costs were $690m in 2021.
The company understands the importance of liquidity and thus raised $425m through convertible bonds. The United States CARES Act tax refund also returned $203m.
The groups net debt rose from $4.3bn to $4.8bn in 2021.
Cineworld disagrees with the C$1.2b award from Ontario Superior Court’s judgement and has submitted an appeal.
In 2020 the group paid interim dividends of $0.38, however final dividends will be declared after the group evaluates their cash balances post liabilities.
Mooky Greidinger, Chief Executive Officer, Cineworld Group said, “whilst our 2021 results still reflect the impacts of COVID-19, particularly at the start of the financial year, we are encouraged by the recent strong trading performance throughout the final quarter.”
“It is clear that our customers remain loyal and have missed the big screen experience as well as the sociability of watching a movie with others.”
“Our strong final quarter performance reflects the pent-up demand for affordable out-of-home entertainment and the record breaking film slate, including “Spider-Man: No Way Home”, which showcased the importance of cinematic releases.”
“The business is well positioned to execute its strategy and capitalise on the highly anticipated movie schedule, which includes Avatar, Top Gun Maverick, Jurassic World: Dominion, Minions: The Rise of Gru, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Bullet Train, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Pixar’s Lightyear, Fantastic Beast, Elvis and many more.”