Everyman Media Group PLC (AIM:EMAN), the cinema operator, saw its shares lift close to 5% to 61.8p as it expressed its confidence in the slate of films scheduled for release in 2024.
Upcoming films include:
- Wicked (November)
- Despicable Me 4 (July)
- Paddington in Peru (November)
- Joker: Folie a Deux (October)
- Inside Out 2 (June)
- Mufasa: The Lion King (December)
- Dune Part II (March)
- Unnamed Gladiator sequel (November)
It builds upon the weaker range of films shown during 2023, which was caused by films like Dune Part II being delayed as a result of the Hollywood writer’s strikes.
Now, management at the luxury cinema company is confident in the industry’s growth prospects and is therefore planning to open new sites in areas such as London (Stratford) and Cambridge.
For the year to December 28 2023, Everyman reported sales growth of 16.7% to reach £90.9 million, while underlying earnings rose 19.1% to £16.2 million.
While rivals like Cineworld and Vue have been forced to restructure and undergo debt for equity swaps, the London-listed company has been able to increase its market share by 0.3 percentage points to 4.8%.
Russ Mould at AJ Bell believes the group, which lost over a third of its value last year, could be well positioned for a takeover bid.
He said: “Keep an eye on private equity group Blue Coast as it clearly sees value in the business, having lifted its stake in Everyman to 22.9%.
“If the market won’t accurately value shares in a company, the trend is for someone to take that business private – and the stakebuilding in Everyman implies it could be one of the next candidates to disappear from the stock market.”