Pinewood revenues up in 2011

Overall revenue was up 17% from £43.4m in 2010 to £50.7m, a record high according to the studio.

Film revenues were up thanks to big budget shoots at Pinewood including Universal’s Snow White And The Huntsman, Ridley Scott’s sci-fi epic Prometheus and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. Shepperton shoots last year included Universal’s 47 Ronin starring Keanu Reeves, and Warner Bros’ Gravity with Sandra Bullock.

Operating profit was up 14% from £9.1m in 2010 to £10.3m in 2011. Meanwhile, the studio revealed that it has completed a new 30,000 sq ft stage, on a budget of £5m.

However revenue in the second half of the year was only up fractionally from £24.4m in 2010 to £24.6m in 2011 and operating profit in the second six months of the year was down from £6.2m to £3.7m. “If you make the comparison back to the prevoius year, you will see that the first half versus second half trend was exactly the opposite. The full year is a better yardstick.” said chief executive Ivan Dunleavy.

TV revenues were also fractionally up on 2010, “which within the context of the current market is a good result,” said Dunleavy.

We are not resting on our laurels, the work particularly in film is going well,” he added. It is currently playing host to the new Bond film Skyfall, with Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables due to shoot there later this year.

Pinewood received a blow in January when its £200m Project Pinewood was refused planning permission by the UK government.