Everyman Media Group PLC on Wednesday reported a widened loss due to the recent writers and actors strikes and rising administration costs, despite soaring admissions sales in the first half of 2024.
The London-based premium cinema group said pretax loss widened to £4.9 million in the 26 weeks that ended June 27 from £4.3 million a year before.
Everyman said this reflected the impact of last year’s actor and writer strikes, delaying the production and release of a number of key film titles in the first half, including Deadpool & Wolverine.
The movie house chain also had higher admin costs, up 23% to £33.2 million from £27.0 million a year before. Financial expenses also increased.
More positively, Everyman reported a 22% increase in revenue to £46.9 million in the first half of 2024, from £38.3 million a year before.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose to £6.2 million for the half from £5.8 million a year before.
Everyman attributed this to increased admissions sales, noting a 19% increase in sales to £1.9 million for the first half of the year from £1.6 million a year before.
Everyman said the increase was driven by a strong awards season in the first quarter with Oscar contenders such as Poor Things, The Holdovers, One Life, and All of Us Strangers performing well. Sales also benefited from the opening of four new venues in Marlow, Bath, Tivoli Cheltenham, and Bury St Edmunds.
Everyman got a 2.3% increase in the average ticket price to £11.76 in the recent half-year from £11.49 a year before, and a 2.1% increase in the average food and beverage spend per head to £10.47 from £10.25.
Everyman noted that it does not recommend a dividend at this stage.
Looking ahead, Everyman said it is optimistic about the future and expects to return to full uninterrupted film slate in 2025.
Everyman added that it remains on track to meet full year guidance with an ‘excellent’ pipeline of content for the second half of 2024, including Joker: Folie a Deux, Gladiator II, Paddington in Peru, Wicked, Moana 2 and Mufasa: The Lion King.
The group also said that it expects to open new venues in Cambridge and London during the period.
Chief Executive Alex Scrimgeour commented: ‘Despite weathering the full impact of last year’s actor and writer strikes, we are pleased to report another period of financial and operational progress. We achieved strong growth in revenue, increased Ebitda and record market share, driven by rising demand for Everyman’s unique brand of hospitality.’
He continued: ‘We move into the second half with confidence, and look forward to an exciting slate of high profile releases to come through the remainder of the year.’
Everyman shares were up 3.3% to 58.39 pence each in London on Wednesday afternoon.
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