Cinema group Cineworld (CINE) ticked up 0.6% to 39p as it revealed it generated positive cash flow in the fourth quarter of last year.
The company was boosted in December by the ‘strong’ performance of Spider-Man: No Way Home with box office and concession revenue at 88% of pre-pandemic levels across the group in December compared with just 56% in November.
The latest instalment of the web-slinging hero’s adventures became the first film to gross more than $1.5 billion at the box office since the onset of the pandemic.
As a result of this improvement in revenue and the tight cost measures implemented, the group generated positive quarterly cash flow in the final three months of 2021.
HOPES FOR 2022
The company is hopeful a reboot of Top Gun and the latest film in the Jurassic World series will help this year shape up nicely in terms of audience figures.
'Whilst there are challenges ahead, we are excited to welcome customers to our cinemas to enjoy the highly anticipated slate of movies throughout 2022', said chief executive Mooky Greidinger.
Cineworld, which is set to announce its full year results on Thursday 17 March 2022, still faces major challenges though. The company’s last reported net debt position was more than $4.6 billion, dwarfing its current market value of £533.8 million.
And a recent court ruling that it must pay $985 million to Canadian rival Cineplex after pulling out of a takeover deal is another material risk facing the business.
The firm said it had served its notice of appeal of the decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in the Cineplex case.
