Bona Film reports revenue growth

Bona Film Group Ltd, the Chinese film distributor and producer, has reported annual net revenues of $142.3 million for 2012, a 12.8 percent year-on-year increase, driven by its film investment, production and movie theater businesses.

Its film investment and production arms generated $73.7 million in net revenue, from $50.5 million in 2011, largely from the success of its first TV drama production, The King's Battles - an 80-episode series that premiered on multiple satellite networks in China.

Net revenues from its theater business rose to $41.7 million from $26 million in 2011, a 60.4 percent rise year-on-year, which the company attributed to an expansion of its theater activities across the country.

Bona opened nine theaters in 2012, increasing its portfolio of owned and operated theaters to 20, and its number of screens to 163 by the end of December.

Its theaters earned revenue of 260 million yuan ($41.9 million).

In the fourth quarter alone, the company opened five cinemas in cities including Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hefei in Anhui province.

The new theaters now provide 5,800 seats and 40 screens, and by 2014, the company plans to own 35 to 40 cinemas nationwide, it said.

Last year, Bona also strengthened its partnership with overseas counterparts in a bid to distinguish itself from domestic rivals.

In May, one of the world's leading media conglomerates News Corp acquired a 19.9 percent stake in Bona.