Research and Markets has announced the addition of the Cinema Industry Research – Scandinavia report to their offering. The countries of Scandinavia and the Baltic region have very different cinema markets with attendance rates ranging from among the lowest in Western Europe to the highest in Iceland, and some potentially fast-growing markets in the Baltic States.
In November 2014, the Rohde & Schwarz Broadcasting Division was renamed Broadcast and Media Division. This emphasized the company’s growing commitment in the studio market as well as the expansion of its product portfolio across the entire value added chain. What the company calls the next logical step is now taking place with the complete integration of the Rohde & Schwarz DVS GmbH subsidiary into the parent company. "We have had a common vision for a long time. Now we have merged perfectly to continue on our successful path," said Juergen Nies, head of the division.
Bloomberg News is reporting that AMC Entertainment is assembling a bid for Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group valuing the European company at as much as 900 million pounds ($1.3 billion), according to two people familiar with the matter.
Ymagis Group has announced a complete corporate rebranding initiative effective immediately, which will be rolled out through the second quarter of 2016. This rebranding encompasses all aspects of the visual identity of the Group’s portfolio of brands as well as the complete revision of the company tagline, mission and vision statement. All exhibitor services activities (dcinex, Ymagis, R2D1 and shortly Proyecson) now operate under the name CinemaNext.
Novra Technologies has announced a proposed merger with International Datacasting Corporation. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Novra will acquire 100 percent of the issued and outstanding common shares of IDC for total purchase consideration of approximately $1.9 million. This proposed transaction was done at arm's length and there was no finder's fee.
Wanda Cinema Line Corporation is planning to purchase more than 800 units of Dolby digital cinema processors, including the Dolby Atmos Cinema Processor CP850 and the Dolby Digital Cinema Processor CP750, to deploy in all of its new cinema screens in China through the end of 2016.
AMC has announced plans to acquire Carmike Cinemas for a reported $737 million in cash. Under the terms of the deal, AMC will offer $30 a share, an increase of 19 percent over Carmike’s closing price on Thursday. AMC would also Carmike’s debt, making the transaction worth about $1.1 billion. If approved, the deal would give AMC more than 600 theatres, making it the largest theatre chain in the country.
Carmike Cinemas today reported results for the three and twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2015 and noted continued growth. “Carmike’s record fourth quarter and 2015 full year financial results reflect the ongoing success of our theatre-level initiatives, the progress we are achieving with our value-building theatre acquisition and organic growth strategies and the overall strength of the U.S. box office. Our admissions revenue growth per screen of over 15 percent in the 2015 fourth quarter and 9 percent for the full year outpaced the industry by almost 500 and 200 basis points, respectively. We achieved record results across several key financial metrics, including a 19 percent rise in operating revenues to an all-time quarterly record, as well as a rise in operating income of over 100 percent, which drove increases in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and theatre level cash flow of approximately 61 percent and 51 percent, respectively,” said David Passman, Carmike Cinemas’ president and chief executive officer.
On the occasion of the 66th Berlin International Film Festival the European Audiovisual Observatory has released its first estimates for European cinema attendance in 2015. The Observatory estimates that total admissions in the European Union increased by 7.6 percent to 980 million tickets sold, 69 million more than in 2014. This is the second highest level registered in the EU in the past ten years. Only in 2009 did cinemas in the EU sell more tickets boosted by Avatar and the novelty factor of 3D.
Ymagis today reported its consolidated revenue figures for the fourth quarter of 2015. For the quarter, the group’s revenue amounted to €51.6 million, an increase of 20.7 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. For the 2015 fiscal year, the company generated cumulated revenue of €157.7 million, an increase of 86.4 percent over the prior year period on a reported basis, and an increase of 4.8 percent over the 2014 fiscal year pro forma.
