Shares in Event Hospitality and Entertainment Ltd (ASX:EVT) hit a 52-week high of $14.44 today despite the hotels and cinemas business not issuing a trading update to the market since February 2018. Back then it revealed a strong half of growth with normalised profit up 15.4% to $102.7 million.
At the time the CEO flagged that strong results from the group's hotels division including its Thredbo resorts were offsetting weakness in the cinemas division that suffered from a lack of blockbuster movies attracting punters to the cinema.
Investors have also been concerned that the FIFA World Cup this June will have hurt cinema visitor numbers probably with some justification.
The cinema industry is facing some structural headwinds with the rise of streaming services like Netflix and general improvements in home entertainment, but only the the super-rich can afford a giant home cinema in their luxury mansions.
The group's hotels business is also performing well with its QT Hotels remaining the star performer. The hotels group's profit before tax was up 48.5% over the half and this business is exposed to inbound tourism, with plenty of potential growth ahead yet.
The group also pays a decent trailing yield of 3.6% plus full franking credits. As such the recent share price rise is probably in anticipation of a moderately strong full year result later this August.
