Cinema City Posts Q3 Recovery

20-11-2012

By Cathy Meils

Cinema City looks to fill more seats in Q4. Photo: Ladies Night event organised by Cinema City Poland

PRAGUE: Cinema City (www.cinemacity.nl), the largest multiplex operator in CEE, recovered most of its earlier 2012 losses in the third quarter, with revenues up 8 percent, to 74.9 m EUR, compared to the same period in 2011. Ticket sales for the quarter were up 7.7 percent, to 9.7 m, with the increase attributed to new screens added in the past year.

The year to date revenues were down just 0.8%, at 196 m EUR, compared to 2011, with projections for a strong Q4 indicating the company could end the year with an increase over 2011 revenues. The earlier losses were attributed to a decline in admissions in Poland, and weakened local currencies against the Euro in Poland, Hungary and Romania.

Highlights for the year included the opening of new multiplexes in Romania, Bulgaria, and Israel, and the launch of the company’s distribution arm, Film Forum, in the Czech Republic. Cinema City now operates its distribution company in all of its territories.

The company noted strong October admissions, indicating growth for Q4, and expects the trend to continue into 2013. The remainder of 2012 and the next year will see the opening of multiplexes in Bulgaria and Romania as well as in Israel, with future plans to open a total of 31 multiplexes with some 330 screens. It will open new 4DX halls in Warsaw, Prague and Budapest, with as many as 30 4DX halls planned to open in the next five years.

Cinema City operates 97 multiplexes with 940 screens in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Israel.

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