Pinewood strikes upbeat tone despite profit slump
PINEWOOD Shepperton, whose studios provided the backdrop for films such as the Bond saga and recent release The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus yesterday insisted its prospects are strong despite posting a 24 per cent fall in profits for the year.
The firm saw its pre-tax profit slip to £4.5m for the year to December, compared to £5.9m in 2008.
But Pinewood said the figures had been impacted by a damaging industrial dispute with the Screen Actors Guild, which was resolved in the summer, as well as the depressed market conditions. Its television business, which accounts for well over a quarter of revenues, was particularly badly hit as firms reduced spending on advertising in the downturn.
Pinewood said contracted revenues for the current year to date are above the comparative period in 2009.