Yahoo Finance Cancelled Phantom of the Opera helps Andrew Lloyd Webber’s empire return to profit
Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s entertainment empire returned to making a profit helped by a surge in ticket sales ahead of Phantom of the Opera closing on Broadway.
London-headquartered The Really Useful Group has reported pre-tax profits of £10.2m for the year to June 30, 2023, having made a pre-tax loss of £3.8m in the prior 12 months.
Newly-filed accounts with Companies House also show the group’s turnover increased from £37.8m to £46.3m.
During the year the number of people attending the group‘s shows increased from 3.74 million to 4.63 million while its box office takings swelled from £210.4m to £304.7m.
A statement signed off by the board said: “Production and licensing showed a significant increase in activity compared to the previous two financial years, which were impacted so significantly by the Covid-19 pandemic across all the territories in which the group operates.
“The group benefitted from a number of very successful productions in the financial period, including Phantom of the Opera West End and Australia, the long running Starlight Express Bochum, Japanese productions of Phantom of the Opera and Cats as well as the continued success of the US tours of Jesus Christ Superstar and Cats.
“However, the significantly higher costs of staging Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, including the impact of Covid-19 safety measures, resulted in the show being unable to run profitably.”
It was announced in September 2022 that after a 35-year run, the show was to close.
The group, which was founded by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber in the 1970s, said that it then achieved record breaking sales in the run up to its final performance on April 16, 2023.
It added that the higher royalties and profit shares received over that period “positively impacted” the group’s results.
During the year, the group’s turnover from theatre productions increased from £33.9m to £37.5m while record and music publishing generated £1.8m, up from £1.7m.
Merchandising sales rose from £1.3m to £3.2m while film production went from £773,987 to £1m.
Turnover in the UK fell from £15.6m to £5m but jumped from £9.1m to £17.5m in the USA and Canada.
European sales fell from £5.3m to £4.8m but rose from £3.9m to £5.7m in Japan and from £3.7m to £10.3m in Australia and the rest of the world.
According to the accounts filed with Companies House, the average number of people employed by the group during the year decreased from 142 to 69.
On its future, the group added: “The directors are optimistic that the continued development and exploitation of the group’s copyrights and other rights will result in strong trading results next year.”
