Boutique UK cinema chain Everyman Media Group saw profits rise in 2023 by 19%, despite myriad challenges such as the Hollywood strikes derailing the release schedule, a cost-of-living crisis impacting customer behaviour and rising business costs.
Profits rose up 19.1% to around £16.2m, from £13.6m in 2022 (a year which benefitted from a temporarily reduced rate of VAT).
Group revenue was up 16.7% in 2023 to approximately £90.9m from £77.9m in the previous year. Market share increased to 4.8% from 4.5% in 2022.
“We have delivered robust, double-digit growth in both revenue and EBITDA [sarnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization] against a challenging economic backdrop, delays to new openings and both writers’ and actors’ strikes,” said Everyman’s CEO, Alex Scrimgeour. “Further operational progress has been made with improvements in all key metrics, illustrating that our proposition remains as relevant as ever.”
Everyman also agreed a three-year loan facility of £35m from 2023 with Barclays and National Westminster banks, helping to shore up the group’s finances.
The cinema chain focuses on a premium experience for its customers, boasting plush sofa-style seating and food and drink that can be ordered a customer’s seat. Average ticket price is £11.65, a 3.2% increase on 2022.
Shares stood at around 61p as of this morning (January 25), however they are down around a third on this time last year.
2024
Last year saw four new venues open for the cinema chain, in Marlow, Salisbury, Northallerton and Plymouth, plus the acquisition from Empire of the Tivoli venues in Bath and Cheltenham. Everyman now operates 43 venues with a total of 152 screens.
New openings planned for 2024 include Bury St Edmunds in the first quarter (Q1), Durham and London’s Stratford in Q3 and Cambridge in Q4. Everyman has also confirmed it will continbue to consider additional “opportunistic” acquisitions.
“The Group has confidence in the continuously improving film slate during 2024,” said a statement from Everyman, pointing towards a release slate including Wicked, Despicable Me 4, Paddington in Peru, Joker: Folie à Deux, Inside Out 2, Mufasa: The Lion King, Dune: Part II and the Gladiator sequel.
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