20 Jun 2014 07:00
20 June 2014
reach4entertainment enterprises plc
('r4e' or 'the Group')
Trading Update
r4e, the transatlantic media and entertainment marketing company, today provides an update on trading for the five months to 31 May 2014.
Trading Update
The Group has enjoyed a strong start to trading in the current financial year and is confident of meeting market expectations for the full year.
Historically, r4e's financial performance has been weighted towards the second half of the year, which includes the peak summer and year-end theatre seasons. However, primarily due to a very strong performance from Spot & Company of Manhattan Inc. ('SpotCo'), the Group's New York based theatre and live entertainment business, it is expected that trading in the current financial year will be more equally balanced between half year periods.
SpotCo continues to benefit from buoyant market conditions on Broadway, with performance supplemented through the delivery of a number of significant, one-off projects. Long running shows include Chicago, Kinky Boots, the annual Radio City Christmas Spectacular and Motown the Musical. SpotCo also launched, for the 7th consecutive year the Tony award winning musical which, for 2014, was A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder. The breadth of clients continues to grow with the addition of the Lincoln Center Theatre and there is a strong slate of upcoming new shows launched for opening later in the year.
London based Dewynters Ltd ('Dewynters') has delivered a solid performance, despite the cancellation of a number of shows. As the market leader, it continues to work with a substantial number of successful, long-running West End shows which include The Bodyguard, The Book of Mormon, Les Miserables, Mamma Mia!, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Wicked which provides security and visibility of earnings. New openings in 2014 thus far have included Miss Saigon, Skylight and I Can't Sing with other new shows which will open later in the year already launched. Non West-End related work continues to grow with design work across Europe for theatrical and musical projects whilst the Touring Division, which was established just over two years ago to provide marketing services to touring productions of theatre and other live events, continues to expand in the UK and Europe.
Newman Displays' ('Newmans'), the Group's signage and fascia business, performance remains robust, albeit affected by the move by a major central London cinema to digitalise its external advertising hoardings.
Stage17, the digital platform that delivers a range of Broadway and arts related entertainment content in which r4e holds a 17 per cent stake, continues to progress as expected, with the site (http://www.stage17.tv/) formally launching earlier this year.
David Stoller, Executive Chairman, r4e, said:
"I have been pleased with the Group's strong start to the year and am confident of it meeting expectations for the full year. Our New York operations have been the highlight so far, performing strongly at a time of robust spending on Broadway, with an encouraging book of new business boding well for the rest of the financial year.
"Both SpotCo and Dewynters continue to seek to expand their customer offering and client base in order to secure future growth opportunities, and I am confident of reporting further progress on this throughout the year."
ENDS
Enquiries:
reach4entertainment +44 (0) 20 7968 1655
David Stoller, Executive Chairman
Sarah Hall, Chief Operating Officer
Blytheweigh +44 (0) 20 7138 3204
Paul Weigh +44 (0) 7989 129658
Eleanor Parry +44 (0) 7551 293620
Cantor Fitzgerald Europe +44 (0) 20 7894 7000
Mark Percy (Corporate Finance)
David Banks / Paul Jewell (Corporate Broking)
Allenby Capital +44 (0) 20 3328 5656
Katrina Perez/Kelly Gardiner
Notes to Editors:
reach4entertainment enterprises plc ('r4e') is a collection of branding, marketing, design and advertising agencies that focus primarily on the theatre, film and live entertainment industries.
r4e's three principal operating divisions are Dewynters Ltd ('Dewynters'), Spot and Company of Manhattan Inc ('SpotCo') and Newman Displays Limited ('Newmans').
Dewynters, which was founded in 1876, is based in London and is a market leader in live entertainment marketing, branding and advertising campaigns.
SpotCo, founded in 1996, is based in New York and is a leading arts and live entertainment advertising and marketing agencies, producing a range of interactive, environmental and print campaigns.
Newmans was founded in 1988 and is the UK's leading large scale outdoor signage, front of house, marquee display and installation company. Clients include major West End theatre productions, leading film companies, cinemas and major global events.
The company is listed on AIM (AIM: R4E).