KUALA LUMPUR (March 5): PPB Group Bhd’s (KL:PPB) Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) is seeing promising signs of recovery and growth, driven by an improved lineup of movie releases and a steady resurgence in movie-going interest.

"We are very optimistic about the cinema business because Hollywood blockbusters are back," said GSC Group CEO Koh Mei Lee in a briefing on Wednesday. She noted that the Hollywood actors and writers' strike, which began in May 2023, had impacted the group in the first nine months of 2024.

For 2025, Koh said there would be a significant amount of content from April to August. This includes local titles, animations, big titles that GSC co-invested in, as well as Hollywood blockbusters, contributing to an increased number of movie releases this year.

Local movies are expected to contribute to 30% of the box office revenue, said Koh, noting that local movies had consistently been top titles at GSC as their storylines resonate well with the local audience. “Last year, out of the top 10 titles, two were actually local movies,” Koh said.

To reduce dependency on Hollywood content, GSC has collaborated with top producers and directors to co-produce local movies across various genres.

Koh pointed to Vietnam as an example where the market has been performing exceptionally well because it was less dependent on Hollywood titles, which only accounted for 20% of their total box office, compared to local titles which contributed about 40%.

This year, with more movie titles on the horizon, GSC aims to drive admissions and concession sales through value-added and attractive promotions for their members, which currently total 3.7 million.

Apart from ticket sales, the group intends to monetise its cinema assets by hosting events and business functions to help diversify revenue stream and maximise utilisation of facilities.

Ticket sales make up 50% of GSC's total revenue, with food and beverages accounting for 30%, while other sources contribute the remaining 20%.

Meanwhile, Koh said GSC's operations in Malaysia will focus on driving admissions to its existing cinemas first before investing in new locations. As for its operations in Vietnam, which recorded a 30% jump in admissions and revenue last year, GSC is planning to open its theatres in three new locations.

GSC controls 51% of the cinema market share in Malaysia, following the acquisition of MBO Cinemas’ assets in 2021. In Vietnam, the group holds a 12% market share via its 40%-owned Galaxy Studio — the third-largest cinema chain in the country.

The cinema division, which contributes over 10% of PPB’s revenue, reported a segmental profit of RM3.66 million in FY2024, compared to a loss of RM120.4 million in FY2023 that was largely tied to impairment. The division’s total revenue grew by 3% to RM587 million in FY2024, up from RM570 million.

PPB’s shares closed 28 sen or 2.6% higher at RM11.04 on Wednesday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM15.71 billion.

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