Everyman reports strong first half as profits surge

(Sharecast News) - Everyman Media's share price jumped on Monday after the upmarket cinema chain delivered a positive trading update for the first half, as the bottom line was boosted by a surge in revenues and margin improvements. Group revenues totalled £56.5m over the six months to 3 July, up 21% year-on-year, helped by a 15% annual increase in admissions to 2.2m, a 6% increase in the average ticket price and a 5.9% increase in the amount spent on food and beverages.

This helped grow EBITDA by 33% on last year to £8.2m, which broker Canaccord Genuity said implied a margin increase of 130 basis points to 14.5%.

Everyman, which operates 48 cinemas following the most recent opening in Brentford in March, now has a 5.8% share of the UK cinema market, up from 5.6% at the same point last year.

The company said it plans to open one more site this year, in Bayswater, with two additional venues earmarked for 2026.

"Our performance in H1 reflects the successful execution of our strategy, with growth across all key metrics and ongoing delivery of our measured expansion programme. This is driven by Everyman's unique brand of high-quality, experience-led cinema," said chief executive Alex Scrimgeour.

"We look forward to building on this momentum in the second half of the year."

The company said it is currently trading in line with the board's expectations for the full year despite the "challenging economic environment".

Shares were up nearly 5% at 42.95p by 0959 BST.