A string of blockbusters including Jurassic World, Avengers: Age of Ultron and 50 Shades of Grey has boosted business at Cineworld.
A rise in adult ticket sales and the growing popularity of premium Imax showings - plus price rises - saw the average ticket price in the UK rise by 7.9%.
Overall, half year revenues rose 22.5%, and profits surged 236.7% to £46.8m. Total admissions jumped 25.4%.
The company is also positive on the outlook for the second half, with new Star Wars and Hunger Games films due, as well as the new Bond film Spectre. Mooky Greidinger, chief executive, said:
With the anticipated strength of the film line up in the second half, coupled with our solid first half performance, we are marginally ahead of our plans for the year as a whole.
The company is also expected to open 10 more cinemas before the end of the year, taking its total number of screens to more than 2,000.
Cineworld’s shares have climbed 19.5p or 3.5% to 568p, and analysts are positive on the outlook. N+1 Singer said:
[The] interims have surprised on the upside this morning and the full year outlook is expected to be better than management previous expectations. We envisage 3-5% consensus upgrades this morning and lift our 12 month target price from 550p to 600p and stay at buy on growth considerations.
Nick Batram at Peel Hunt said:
The first half was a slight beat and leaves room to nudge numbers higher. However, the potential scale of the second half mega blockbusters presents an opportunity for more material upgrades later in the year. Supporting a positive film slate is the ambitious (and largely secured) estate expansion programme. Given this, we expect Cineworld to continue to deliver premium earnings per share and dividend per share growth versus the broader leisure sector.
Canaccord Genuity said:
The higher mix of adults flocking to cinemas to be entertained by blockbusters, Jurassic World, Fifty Shades and Fast & Furious is a key reason behind Cineworld’s stellar first half with Star Wars, Bond and the final Hunger Games all slated for the fourth quarter. We are looking at an indicative 6% upgrade to 28.4p for 2015 and a 5% upgrade to 31.4p for 2015. We are hiking our target price to 620p from 540p. Cineworld has recovered from its recent share price wobble and is set for another surge in performance, we believe.
