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Everyone seems to miss this point. In the first RNS, CINE stated ‘These lower levels of admissions are due to a limited film slate that is anticipated to continue until November 2022 and are expected to negatively impact trading and the Group's liquidity position in the near term.’
Notice the ‘until November 2022’. It could be the case that CINE is just struggling cash-wise for the next 2 months but when November comes with the packed film slate, they may get some breathing space to continue.
In fact, if you read it, CINE doesn’t even say that they are concerned about the liquidity, they just say that the limited film slate may negatively impact it. That is common sense. If your film slate is limited, there is less money coming in so it would negatively impact the liquidity, but it doesn’t say it will be negatively impacted to the extent that they can’t survive.
You should all go and check the yahoo Cineplex board, there is chaos. Many investors are just writing off any possibility of seeing any of the settlement anyway. If Mooky is doing this to create the impression that Cineplex should just wave the money goodbye, it is certainly having that effect on some of their shareholders.
Yes, it could just be the case that CINE is going bankrupt and all of that, but you also need to look at both sides of the coin.
@oxygen, damage has already been done. I used to be one of the biggest proponents of Mooky here.
I need to see how this all plays out. If we go bankrupt and get wiped out whilst other cinema operators are reporting profits then it is just ridiculous to be quite honest.
@Reppyrr, it looks like the BOD have just been running the company in too old-fashioned of a manner. This is a huge shame.
If you charge a lower price you’ll usually get more people in, to the extent that you actually make more money with the lower price than the higher price. Maybe CINE should just do another Cineworld Day and do it £4 all over this time. Just get people in and concessionary sales will also increase really well. If the company is in such a state, might as well try to experiment with something.
@Reppyrr, funnily enough I just made a post about that a minute ago. Many are saying the same thing about CINE offering a similar service for a higher price.
I was having a look at some conversations on Reddit about the news of CINE. There was one huge theme.
Many said that they stopped going to CINE in particular because the place isn’t run properly. They charge similar rates to other cinemas, whilst other cinemas offer better seating and snack options. And plus, CINE isn’t strict on those misusing the cinema. There is always the odd person using their phone or talking during the film. This was SPECIFICALLY something I brought up to Mooky at the AGM, as I noticed it was a recurring theme online and I saw it myself. I advised that perhaps we could get staff to check the screens more often to check for such people, but I have seen no change at all.
If CINE changed these little things, you could vastly improve the customer experience and get more people in the door. Mooky perhaps needs to stop trying to make CINE the biggest in the world and focus on running the current operations he’s got as best as possible.
In all honesty, I don’t believe CINE will release an RNS on Monday now. I had the opinion that they would before, but not anymore.
It might not be a bad thing, but if this whole thing is a ploy to help the Cineplex situation, then why would CINE come out and say ‘oh yes, we are bad but not THAT bad’. You also have to remember that this is CINE, IR probably doesn’t even think to release an RNS unless if it absolutely and unequivocally necessary.
He is referring to the pre-diluted price before the Regal acquisition. Remember that CINE funded the Regal acquisition with some debt and some equity issuance.
Back before the equity issuance occurred, CINE was up to 700p+.
@BlueBuxton, glad to hear from you. This has been ROUGH. Sure is giving me a different vibe to the AGM a few months ago.
We are both down by a huge amount, so for now we just have to wait and see. I’m just hanging tight and waiting, maybe this could turn around :)
@powerfader, I agree with your theory. Just like @bullsbears says, everything seems out of place. Bankruptcy prospects are not something that you just find out one morning, they are very gradual and materialise overtime. Mooky was upbeat just a few months ago and said the film slate is positive and strong, and the film slate has not changed significantly since then. August is just going to be a slow month just like how it usually is from what I understand.
If lenders are patient, they will see their money imo. And to be honest, all we know for certain from CINE directly is that dilution MAY occur. CINE did not mention bankruptcy once, it is all media speculation. This is the only reason why I believe that CINE might issue an RNS on Monday, to address the media speculation. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t, if they are doing this to give the image to Cineplex, then just allow the speculation to continue to crank up the pressure.
If this all happens to be the case, then wow Mooky is a clever man. It could be that CINE is being serious, but with every other cinema companies reporting an improvement, and some even reporting profits, I don’t really think that the RNS is all it is making itself out to be.
Thank you @AJones, let’s see what happens here.
@KickThePuss, ok on my side. It is what it is.
I’ve seen in the past that when such a large event happens in a company, the BOD holds an open call with shareholders where everyone can ask questions. I was thinking of asking CINE IR about it, but considering they can’t even update shareholders on the RCF and dissenting payment, I think I might be getting too ahead of myself.
@pokerchips, thanks for the correction there. So you still think it’s possible for CINE to reject the rumours of bankruptcy on Monday?
@KickThePuss, well done on your exit. Hindsight sure is an interesting thing.
That’s just it. Realistically we have no other choice unless you want to sell with 90%+ loss. Very crazy week to say the least.
Best case scenario is CINE announces that the rumours are false, but at the same time they have supposedly hired the administrators already. It is just a case of whether they push the button and start the process. It seems disingenuous if CINE says ‘nope, no bankruptcy’ and then they have already hired administration in.
Perhaps CINE is waiting for a rescue package at the eleventh hour, but how they got to this point is beyond me. Yes, they had a lot of debt, but when compared to other cinema operators we were in line. How does a company manage to announce potential dilution/bankruptcy whilst others are reporting profit, I’ll never know.
Praying for a change of heart from lenders and management, and hopefully a positive RNS on Monday. Just watch what the headlines are saying because some are already reporting that the bankruptcy has taken place, which is not true.
@shazabo, I think there will be no statement today. CINE will think about it over the weekend and decide whether to shaft the shareholders or not. Whatever statement they issue will determine that.
@Bonkers, I don’t remember specifically, but I do remember that Cineworld never told us the appeal date but instead, we found it out from Cineplex. Just poor communication as always unfortunately, CINE IR is notorious for this. Even for something as important as the RCF and dissenting payments where it is obvious that people are waiting to see what has happened, we have heard nothing to the present day.
I would support the company if I had the money. Cineworld is a profitable business. It just needs to help now to make it through. The issue is the film slate, which is becoming a serious issue over the next 3 months.
If I lose my investment, cest la vie.
Hello @FunInvestor, thanks for that info. Let’s wait and see what happens :)
@Bonkers, what I don’t understand is that if the company is in need of urgent funding and you may need to dilute to get it, then why would you issue a statement that will destroy the value of that very same equity you’re trying to tap into.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that it doesn’t make sense. Mooky has basically just removed any possibility of him being able to do anything with the equity, how are you planning to recapitalise $10bn in liabilities with £45m in equity?
Companies usually just issue an RNS saying ‘rights issue is here’ and then they go from there, they don’t beat around the bush like that. The RNS was so incredibly vague that nobody knows what is going on, you can’t tell me that CINE is struggling that much when it has a lower debt/asset ratio than Cineplex and Cineplex filed a profit last quarter.
@StanleyPro, same here. I think sp would rebound 100%+ on that day.
Some very brave individuals who have averaged down. I was tempted to do so but held back, I already have too much money here.
Hopefully a day will come when we can look back at all of this and just laugh it off. This is a very transient issue, the RNS stated ‘until November’.