Cinema chain Cineworld Group Plc (LON:CINE) has predicted a 7.2% full-year jump in revenues, on-year, with strong performance in the US market on the back of a series of box office big-sellers in 2018.
For the year to 31st of December 2018, the firm said that it expected to report revenue growth of 7.2% across its US, UK and ROW (Rest of World) revenue segments, with the US market expected to return a revenue spike of 8.6% on-year.
This progress comes as a result of strong box office performances by popular action movies – such as ‘Black Panther’, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Incredibles 2’ – which performed to or beyond expectations.
As proof of the success of such titles, group admissions to Cineworld grew 2.6% to a record level of 308 million – though this figure has also been attributed to Cinewrld’s ongoing refurbishment programme and the company’s expansion of its premium formats.
During the course of the 2018 financial year, the company opened 13 new sites and announced new agreements with IMAX, 4XD and ScreenX – which include plans to install 55 IMAX projectors, 80 4DX screens and 100 new ScreenX auditoriums.
The company then stated its positive outlook for 2019, with a spokesperson saying Cineworld were “well positioned” for another year of growth, citing an equally strong film slate for 2019, which includes titles such as, ‘Avengers: Endgame’, ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ and ‘Toy Story 4’. Similarly, the company said its integration and development plans with Regal are ‘progressing well’ and that its US refurbishment programme was on track.
The company’s shares are currently trading down 12.6p or 4.56% at 264p per share 16/01/19 14:36 GMT. Analysts from Peel Hunt have reiterated their ‘Add’ stance for Cineworld stock.