Profits at high-end cinema chain Everyman grew last year, despite the impact of Hollywood strikes on the film release calendar.
The chain — known for sofa-style seats and a food menu featuring items like truffle arancini with porchini pesto and espresso martinis —— said the Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strikes last year led to some film releases being pushed back, which hit ticket sales in late 2023. It has also been affected by delayed openings.
However, underlying profits still rose by 19%, to £16.2 million, as revenue increased to £90.9 million. The average ticket price was £11.65, while cinemagoers spent an average of £10.29 per head on food.
CEO Alex Scrimgeour said: “We have delivered robust, double-digit growth in both revenue and EBITDA against a challenging economic backdrop, delays to new openings and both writers' and actors' strikes.
“Further operational progress has been made with improvements in all key metrics, illustrating that our proposition remains as relevant as ever.”
The chain added that it was optimistic about “the continuously improving film slate” for 2024, including Wicked, Despicable Me 4 and Paddington in Peru.
The shares rose by 4p, or 6.8%, to 63p in early trading. However, they are still down by a third over the past year.
Everyman was founded in 2000 with the purchase of the original Everyman cinema in Hampstead. It now operates 44 cinemas across the UK, including 14 in London. Four new openings are planned for this year, including one in Stratford. The group will also “continue to consider opportunistic acquisitions”, after acquiring two Tivoli cinemas, in Bath and Cheltenham, from Empire.
