Cineworld Group has announced its interim results for the 6 months period ended 30 June 2016 showing revenue growth of 8.4%, with UK & Ireland revenue's rising by 3.0%.
The company reported that admissions increased by 2.7% to 46.1m.
Strategic expansion continued with four more site openings, taking the group to 2,053 screens. Also, six major refurbishments are on track for completion by the end of the year.
The period saw the firm driving technological innovation with the first IMAX Sound Experience in the UK, and the first 4DX screen in Slovakia.
CEO Mooky Greidinger said, 'We are delighted to have continued the Group's strategic expansion with the opening of four new sites, 45 screens, during the six months to 30 June 2016. The acquisition announced on 28 July 2016, of five cinemas from Empire Cinema Limited, is an exciting development and reinforces our commitment to growth by operating high quality cinemas.
'The results for the first half of the year are in-line with our expectations. We have achieved growth in admissions, box office revenue, and retail sales, with a particularly strong performance in our Rest of the World segment, achieving double digit growth in admissions. The strongest titles released during the period were The Jungle Book, Deadpool and Captain America: Civil War.'
He continued, 'Our solid performance has resulted in constant currency revenue growth of 6.8%, and EBITDA growth of 7.2%. The Board is pleased to declare an increased interim dividend of 5.2p (2015: 5.0p).
'The film release programme for the second half of the year is promising, with a number of family titles scheduled during the summer including The Secret Life of Pets, The BFG, and Finding Dory, as well as Star Trek Beyond, Jason Bourne, Bridget Jones Baby, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Star Wars: Rogue One later in the year.'
Greidinger concluded, 'We are currently contracted to open a further 6 sites, 47 screens, before the end of the year. 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.'