Blockbuster year for cinema group sees 25 per cent revenue increase

A London media company has announced that its revenue has increased by more than a quarter in the last year.

Everyman Media, which operates cinemas around the country, reported revenue of £65m for 2019, a 25.1 per cent increase on 2018’s £51.9m.

During the year, the firm opened 7 new venues, bringing its total up to 33.

The company also reported that there was a 17 per cent increase in admissions, seeing 3.3 million customers in 2019.

However, the group announced this week that it was closing all venues until further notice in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

It said: “Since our financial year end the outlook for the UK and global economy has become increasingly uncertain due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

“Whilst the exact longer term impact of the situation is difficult to predict the board believes that shareholders should take comfort from the following: the group has in excess of £14m headroom in its loan facility currently.

“Action has been taken to postpone all non-committed capital expenditure, which will affect our planned rollout but maintains the strong financial position of the group.

“Actions to reduce operating expenses have been taken and further actions are in place to reduce expenses to a minimum during this period of closure.”

“We will see a significant interruption in business and new openings, but will remain well placed to deliver again in 2021.

“Cinema has been a part of the social experience for over 80 years and we are confident we will be well placed to deliver again for our customers, continuing to provide them with a great night out, once we have overcome the coronavirus crisis.”

Crispin Lilly, CEO of Everyman Media Group, added: “We are facing an unprecedented global situation, and are now concentrating all our resources on tackling the challenge at hand.

“We will be focused on preparing the business to be in the best possible position in the future.

“Everyman has proven itself to be a strong business with good growth fundamentals, which the board is confident will stand the company in a good position once the current market challenges have been overcome.”