18 May 2011 – interim management statement
At the AGM today, the group will update on trading for the period to 12 May. This will show that revenues for the first 19 weeks of the year are down 8.9% due to a film schedule which contained no major new releases compared with last year which included ”Avatar” and ”Alice in Wonderland”. Although films such as ”The King’s Speech” were successful, they tended to attract an older audience who spend less on food and drink. However, the remainder of the first half will see the launch of films such as the latest ”Pirates of the Caribbean” and ”X-Men” series whilst last year’s comparatives will not be as demanding due to the 2010 World Cup. A stronger line-up of new releases in the second half should underpin prospects and the shares remain ATTRACTIVE.