Everyman gets boost from box office hits and higher ticket prices
Upmarket cinema chain Everyman has revealed a boost in sales as average ticket prices neared ยฃ13 amid the success of box office hits such as The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Project Hail Mary.
The London-listed company still said it was cautious about the outlook for the full year because of a โchallengingโ economic environment.
Admissions across Everyman, which runs 49 cinemas in the UK, totalled 2.6 million over the six months to July 2 โ up 20.5% compared with the same period last year.
The average ticket price was ยฃ12.97, up 4.1% from ยฃ12.46 this time last year.
People also spent an average of ยฃ11.41 on food and drink during their cinema visits, up 3% on the year before.
More ticket sales and increased prices paid helped push revenues up by 23.5% year-on-year to nearly ยฃ70 million, the company said.
Everyman said it captured a bigger share of the cinema market in the first half of the financial year, helped by a strong performance by films such as The Devil Wears Prada 2, Wuthering Heights, Project Hail Mary, Hamnet and Michael.
Recent box office hits The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day are also expected to deliver a boost, as well as upcoming films such as Sense And Sensibility in September, The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping in November, and Dune: Part Three in December.
Everyman offers a premium cinema experience with smaller theatres, sofas and an extensive food and drink menu that can be delivered to peopleโs seats.
It has also been cashing in on things like private hire, brand partnerships and events like its โbaby clubโ, offering morning screenings with a lower volume and softer lighting, and โsilver screenโ matinees for people aged 55 and over.
Everyman revealed to investors in the latest update that it returned to a pre-tax profit of ยฃ1.9 million for the half-year, from a ยฃ3.4 million loss the previous year.
The company warned that it was retaining โa degree of caution for the full-year outlook due to the challenging economic environment and the significance of the fourth quarter trading to the overall annual performanceโ.
The chain had previously pointed to concerns across the industry about pressures on consumer spending impacting demand.