Bahrain Cinema Company (Cineco) said it has registered a net profit of BD4.04 million ($10.6 million) for the first quarter compared to BD1.54 million ($4.05 million) last year, thus registering a 161 per cent growth.

The market leaders in the entertainment industry in the kingdom, Cineco announced the financial results for the first three months, after it was approved during the Bahrain Cinema Company Board meeting held yesterday (May 8).

The operating revenue for the first quarter of the financial year stood at BD1.7 million in comparison with BD5.17 million reported for the same period last year, said a statement from the company.

The reduction in operating revenue was mainly due to accounting of transactions of Cineco 20, City Centre in the books of joint venture company, VOX Cineco Cinemas from July 1, 2017. The total balance sheet footings as on March 31, 2018 stood at BD85.6 million, it stated.

Cineco owns and operates a total of 47 cinema screens in the kingdom and 47 screens in Qatar. Since its establishment in Bahrain in 1968, the company has succeeded over the years by pioneering many firsts, establishing benchmarks in Bahrain’s entertainment industry.

Dr Esam Abdulla Fakhro, the Chairman of the Board pointed out that the earnings per share of the company stood at 51 fils, a sharp improvement over EPS of 20 fils registered last year. This was mainly due to the increase in income from investments.

On the solid performance, CEO Ahmed Rashed said: "The first quarter of 2018 has been exceptionally good for us due to the successful investment policies adopted by the board of directors which have been extremely fruitful thus far, as well as the business investments we have partaken in and the distinguished partnerships we venture into which continue to yield much success."

"We look to continue in the same vein and build on the success we currently enjoy by actively seeking out opportunities for further growth and maximizing the utilization of these catalysts in our pursuit of progress," he noted.

"As always, we aim towards providing world-class entertainment facilities and immeasurably memorable movie and dining experiences to our cherished customers, fulfilling our responsibilities to our stakeholders and consistently working towards development in all areas of our business, remarked Rashed.

"We reiterate our commitment to leave no stone unturned in the realization of these ideals and look forward to a prosperous year ahead," said the top official.

"Cineco continues to strive towards maintaining sustainable growth through the philosophy of business excellence using the best business excellence model," he added.-TradeArabia News Service