Cineworld Group plc has reported interim results for the 6 month period ended 30 June 2017, showing UK & Ireland revenue growth of 11.5%.
Total group revenue growth stood at 17.8% on a statutory basis and 12.4% on a constant currency basis.
Group EBITDA rose by 19.6%, 12.9% on a constant currency basis;
Adjusted profit after tax increased by 23.5% to £42.0m, and statutory profit after tax rose by 65.2% to £40.3m.
During the period, the company saw admissions grow by 10.0% to 50.7m
Cineworld acquired the 16-screen Empire Newcastle site, and opened two new sites, Ely in the UK (six screens) and Zichron in Israel (12 screens) taking the group's total to 2,136 screens at 30 June 2017.
Eleven further site openings are planned for the second half of 2017, and a refurbishment programme is progressing well.
CEO Mooky Greidinger said, 'We are very pleased to report our results for the first half of 2017 - showing strong growth in admissions, revenues, EBITDA and profit after tax.
'I believe that the six months results clearly reflect our strategy and a good quality of film slate. Our strategy is based on our strong belief in the cinema experience, emphasizing our efforts on creating our cinemas in a way that will give our customers 'the best way to watch a movie'.
'We have continued opening new sites as well as refurbishing our top cinemas around the estate and taking great consideration to create better sightlines, bigger screens, better sound and great comfort around the halls in the public areas. These cinemas are being embraced by our customers and give a clear message that we believe in the theatrical experience and expect our customers to come to the cinemas again and again. This strategy combined with great blockbusters such as Beauty and the Beast, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2, The Fate of the Furious, and more were the key reasons for this six months success.'
Greidinger continued, 'During the period, we acquired the Empire in Newcastle (16 screens), opened new sites in Ely in the UK and Zichron in Israel with 11 more sites to come before the end of the year. We continue to enlarge our offer by implementing more IMAX, more 4DX and more VIP in order to give our customers the choice of not only which movie they want to watch, but also the choice of how they want to watch it.
'The film release programme for the second half of the year includes a number of strong titles. The biggest titles in the summer months so far have been Dunkirk, Despicable Me 3, and Spider-Man: Homecoming. Significant releases still to come in the remainder of 2017 include Justice League, Paddington 2, Thor: Ragnarok, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and Star Wars: Episode VIII. Based on the film slate in the second half and our first half results, we remain confident of delivering a performance for the year as a whole in line with current market expectations.'