Cineworld plunges to $3bn loss as screen closures continue
Cineworld announced this morning that it has secured $213m (£155.6m) bond from investors to help with reopening costs as it revealed it plunged to a $3bn loss last year.
The cinema chain posted a loss after tax of $2.65bn in the year ended 31 December, compared to profit of $180.3m in the previous year.
Revenue was $852.3m, down 80.5 per cent from $4.37bn in 2019, while admissions dropped sharply from 275m to 54.4m.
Cineworld has previously announced that it will open its US cinemas in April followed by its UK screens in May, in line with government guidance.
Mooky Greidinger, Cineworld chief executive, said: “For all of us across the world, this has been an incredibly challenging year.
“Covid-19 has created a huge amount of stress and uncertainty, both in business and in our personal lives.
“At Cineworld, I never imagined a time that we would see the closure of our entire cinema estate, nor that varying restrictions would remain in place for so long as we continue to navigate our way through this crisis.
“I am immensely proud and inspired by the response of our people to these very difficult circumstances. We have worked hard to strengthen the long-term prospects of the business and, looking forward, Cineworld enters 2021 confident about the next chapter in our development; not least the intention to reopen our cinemas starting 2 April.”