Cineworld shares slide after it fails to lift outlook despite revenue rise

(Reuters) - Cineworld Group Plc reported an 11.6 percent rise in revenue year to date on Thursday but its failure to raise its outlook disappointed some analysts and shares in the cinema operator fell 7 percent.

Action movies such as "Black Panther" and "Avengers: Infinity War" boosted revenues through to Nov. 11, and European markets saw an uplift in the second half, driven by films including "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again", "Incredibles 2" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the UK.

Despite the 11.6 percent sales rise however, London-listed Cineworld said it would deliver a performance in line with its current expectations for the year.

Shares of the company fell nearly 7 percent in early trade, but clawed back some of their early losses to trade down 3.8 percent at 285.4 pence at 1300 GMT.

The company said its plans for U.S. cinema chain Regal, which it bought for $3.6 billion earlier this year, were progressing well and it was continuing to review further opportunities for integration benefits.

"I think on the whole the market was expecting a synergy upgrade or at least a consensus upgrade today. Those are the two reasons probably why the shares are down," said Investec analyst Alistair Ross, who rates Cineworld a "buy".

Revenue in the UK and Ireland rose just 2.1 percent in the period, compared with a 5.9 percent jump this time last year.

"For this year, these factors (strong U.S. and Regal) outweigh the impact of the UK and mainland Europe trading slightly behind as well as a rising cost of debt," said Peel Hunt analysts, who have an "add" rating on the stock and held their forecasts.

(Reporting by Muvija M and and Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Gopakumar Warrier and Alexandra Hudson)