Coronavirus: Worst-case scenario could see cinema giant unable to pay its debts

Cineworld has said the spread of Covid-19 could make it unable to pay its debts in a worst-case scenario.

The cinema chain has been put under pressure by the postponement of major cinema releases such as the new James Bond movie, which had been moved back to November. Picture: Nicole Dove/MGM

It said that while it has so far seen “minimal impact” from the outbreak, in an extreme and “unlikely” situation it could lose up to three months of revenues.

Mooky Greidinger, chief executive, said that if the situation worsens, the firm could postpone capital expenditure or reduce costs in order to reduce the impact.

The cinema chain has been put under pressure by the postponement of major cinema releases such as the new James Bond movie, which had been moved back to November.

Nevertheless, Cineworld said it is “excited for upcoming films in 2020” such as Black Widow, Wonder Woman 1984, and Top Gun Maverick.

The update came as Cineworld reported a decline in profits in 2019 despite a rise in revenues and admissions. Statutory pre-tax profits fell 39.1 per cent to $212.3 million (£165.6m) on the back of higher one-off costs.The cinema chain saw statutory pre-tax profits fall 39.1% to 212.3 million US dollars (£165.6 million) on the back of higher one-off costs.Sales increased by 6.1 per cent to $4.37 billion (£3.4bn) after admissions rose to 275 million for the year, from 272.6 million in 2018.

Greidinger said: “Cineworld has delivered a solid set of full-year 2019 results despite 2018 being a very strong comparative period.”