Five-star performance from Cineworld

Acquired last December, Picturehouse has gone from strength to strength. Retail revenue grew 13.5 per cent as punters spent more at the cafés and bars, while membership numbers grew 15 per cent to a record 136,000. Higher average ticket prices were achieved thanks to the popularity of more expensive alternative content screenings. In fact, this segment grew 33 per cent, accounting for 10 per cent of Picturehouse's box-office sales.

Meanwhile, the mainstream cinemas produced a five-star performance. Admissions here grew almost 6 per cent and box-office sales growth outstripped that of the wider UK/Ireland market. Converting the entire estate into digital projection has led to cost savings and allowed for a 50 per cent rise in the number of titles played. It has also opened up more opportunities to screen advertising and makes it cost effective to air alternative events, such as live screenings of plays and concerts. These are growing in popularity and demand much higher ticket prices. Investment in its retail offering is paying off, too, as revenues increased by 10 per cent to £41.7m, while registrations to the MyCineworld website have grown to more than 3m since launch in March 2012. The 'Unlimited' card membership base grew 9 per cent to 350,000 over the half-year alone.

Overall, strong trading in both segments resulted in a 22 per cent jump in cash profits to £32m and a 19 per cent rise in box-office sales. The second half looks promising too, with a good line-up of films, including Monsters University and The Wolverine. Cineworld is also set to benefit from weak third-quarter comparisons because of last year's Olympics, although the fourth quarter will be tougher due to the success of last year's Bond movie hit, Skyfall.

Investec expects EPS of 22.9p for the full year, rising to 25.4p in 2014 (20p in 2012).