Cineworld posts loss of $3bn as revenues fall by 80%

International cinema group Cineworld has today reported a loss of nearly $3bn in 2020.

Cineworld, which has headquarters in London, saw operating losses of $2,257.7m, down from 2019’s profit of $724.7m - a decrease of $2.99bn.

It also reported that group revenue dropped from $4.37bn to $0.85bn, decreasing by 80.5 per cent.

The results were “severely impacted” by the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused all sites to close from March 2020.

However, it said that it has raised $810.8m of additional liquidity during the year, and has today announced a new $213m convertible bond commitment from a group of institutional investors.

Cineworld has predicted that its UK cinemas will reopen from 17 May.

Alicja Kornasiewicz, chair of Cineworld Group, commented: “The group has demonstrated resilience through what has been a very difficult year and I am extremely proud of the commitment our colleagues have shown during these exceptional times.

“Despite the significant challenges that Covid-19 continues to present, we look forward to reopening cinemas worldwide and welcoming our guests.”

Mooky Greidinger, CEO of Cineworld Group, 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 April 2 [in the US].”