Cineworld posts half-year revenue rise on strong US ticket sales

Big ticket releases such as Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther boost sales

Cinema operator Cineworld posted a 10.8 per cent rise in half-year revenue on Thursday as big-ticket releases such as Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther and Incredibles 2 boosted US sales.

The second-largest cinema group in the world by screen numbers said US revenue grew more than 14 per cent to $1.87 billion in the first half, with the superhero movies contributing a major part of the total revenue.

Shares of the company climbed as much as 7.2 per cent to an eight-month high in early trading on the London Stock Exchange.

However, UK admissions dipped 2.7 per cent, while revenue edged up just 1.3 per cent, as adverse weather conditions and the Fifa World Cup dragged performance.

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Cineworld operates 2,049 screens across 221 sites in Britain, Ireland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Israel.

“Second half of 2018 has started well”, Cineworld chairman Anthony Bloom said, adding that the company would meet expectations for the full year. – Reuters