AUDIOVISUAL SECTOR: NO STRUCTURAL CRISIS IN EUROPEAN CINEMA MARKET.

• Position: Kinepolis - Brief Article

The Kinepolis group, created by the merger of the Bert and Claes family companies, operates a score of multiplexes in Spain, Poland, Belgium, France and Switzerland. The Kinepolis Chairman was speaking a month after the publication of figures showing a 12% decline in ticket sales at the group's cinemas over the first nine months of the year. The Belgian group has reported a 77% slump in profits for the first half year to euro 1.35 million, compared with 5.78 million over the same period in 2004.

Florent Gijbels argues that 2004 saw a particularly high number of block-buster films whereas 2005 has thus far been disappointing in this regard. The release of films like Harry Potter and King Kong is, however, expected to boost the market though without reversing the downward trend, according to Mr Gijbels.

The Kinepolis Chairman claims falling ticket sales in Europe and the United States have not led his group to alter its strategy. The group has no intention of offloading a part of its real estate portfolio. Likewise, it has no...