Preliminary results
· Group revenue growth of 11.6% on a statutory basis and 8.0% on a constant currency basis(1):
· Solid UK and Ireland revenue growth of 6.2%.
· Strong ROW(5) revenue growth of 20.5% on a statutory basis and 10.7% on a constant currency basis.
· Adjusted diluted EPS (before rights adjustment) increased by 12.1% to 38.9p (2016: 34.7p).
· The Group maintained its dividend pay-out ratio for another year, increasing the full year cash dividend paid by 14.5%(6).
· Cash generated from operating activities of £184.8m.
· Net debt reduced to £278.3m and Adjusted EBITDA to net debt ratio reduced to 1.4 times.
Operational Highlights
· Group admissions growth of 3.5% to 103.8m.
· Acquisition of 16 screen Empire Newcastle site completed.
· Nine new site openings, four in the UK and five in the ROW, adding 109 screens, bringing the total number of screens to 2,217 at 31 December 2017.
· Six major refurbishments completed in 2017, four in the UK and two in the ROW.
· Leading technological innovation with two new IMAX screens and 11 new 4DX screens.
· Announcement in December and completion on 28 February 2018 of the acquisition of Regal Entertainment Group ("Regal"), making Cineworld the second largest cinema chain in the world (by number of screens).