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in China and South East Asia, India and Russia. This collaborative development agreement has the potential to create exciting opportunities in Pan Asia and beyond; 

• An MOU with the government of the Gyeongsangnam-do Province in South Korea to join Twentieth Century Fox in the design and management of a world class theme park in Korea; 

• An MOU with Guangxi Longxianggu Investment Co., who are working with the highly regarded hospitality, sport and leisure pioneers, Mission Hills China, for a planned water park in Guangxi Province, Southern China, of similar size to Wet’n’Wild Sydney; 

• A Consultancy Services Project Coordination agreement with China Studio Theme Parks Investment Ltd for a planned ‘destination’ theme park in Guangdong Province, China; and 

• An LOI with Symmetry Property Development LLC for a project in Wuqing, Tianjin, China. 

The VRL development team is also currently working collaboratively with Sunway Group Malaysia to assess the potential market in Johor Bahru for a hybrid Sea World/Ride Park similar in style and content to VRL’s Sea World on the Gold Coast. Johor Bahru, in southern Malaysia, is connected to Singapore via a causeway and is a popular shopping and tourist destination for Singaporeans. Detailed due diligence and market research with international theme park consultants is being undertaken. 

## CINEMA EXHIBITION 

VRL’s Cinema Exhibition division operates predominantly in Australia, Singapore and the United States of America through joint ventures, including with Amalgamated Holdings in Australia and other cinema operators internationally. VRL has interests in a total of 704 screens at 74 cinema sites, being 532 screens at 52 cinema locations in Australia, 11 sites with 87 screens in Singapore, 10 sites with 73 screens in its USA cinema circuit and one residual UK site with 12 screens. 

The Cinema Exhibition division had a very strong year to 30 June 2014. VRL’s share of EBITDA for the division was up 6.9% on the prior year to $62.6 million and PBT was up 8.3% to $43.8 million, with Australian PBT results up 7.6% despite flat admissions, and Singapore up 10%. 

Village Cinemas has been a leading force in the cinema exhibition industry for nearly sixty years, bringing audiences together with the movies they want to see – and our cinemas continue to be at the forefront of industry developments and always strive to push the boundaries in the experiential offer. 2014 has seen a number of major upgrades and refurbishments to our key sites, including Launceston in Tasmania and Geelong, Fountain Gate, Crown, Jam Factory and Werribee Cinemas in Victoria. These prudent investments are all about enhancing the consumer experience and maintaining Village Cinemas ‘drawcard’ quality, where comfort, service and state of the art technology are always in demand from audiences. 

During the year VRL acquired an interest in a further cinema site at Loganholme in Queensland and future expansion is planned into the right locations for new developments targeting significant population growth corridors to build and grow VRL’s prominent market position in Australia. 

Cinema Exhibition’s ‘premium offerings’ were a major focus for the year, with the highly successful Gold Class and brands over performing 

in all markets in which they operate. With the key features of luxury, glamour, indulgence and excitement, Gold Class and continue to drive improved average overall spend per person. The noticeable conversion of patrons from our traditional cinemas to these higher yield offerings continues to have a positive impact on the bottom line. 

VRL’s Singapore operation, the jointly owned Golden Village Cinemas circuit, is number one in the territory with a commanding 43% market share. On the back of record results in the prior year, strong performance continued in the 2014 year with an impressive 10% increase in NPAT and EBITDA. 

The hugely anticipated Suntec City complex, comprising eleven screens including Gold Class and , is scheduled to open in November 2014. The location is second to none and it is expected to be the ‘jewel in the crown’ of our Singapore operations and a vitally important addition to what is an extremely lucrative cinema territory. 

VRL’s 30% owned Gold Class USA circuit, which trades as iPic Theaters, continues to improve. Whilst the US circuit is operating cash positive, it remains in a loss making position after interest and depreciation charges. 

This US cinema circuit has substantial expansion plans to be rolled out throughout the coming year, which debuted with the successful opening of iPic Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, in May 2014. This takes the total number of sites to ten so far, with plans progressing for a further two sites in Washington and Houston slated for opening in the 2015 financial year and further sites under negotiation. These progressive cities have been chosen for their growth, vitality and high level of expenditure on entertainment. 

With a number of other key strategic and iconic sites already having been identified for potential development by iPic Theaters, VRL is confident that as a critical mass of locations is reached, this circuit will be a great asset and addition to the Company’s cinema portfolio. 

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