02 Mar 2015
SeaWorld loses one million visitors in 2014
BY Tom Anstey
SeaWorld continues to flounder as its year-end report showed a net loss of US$24.5m (€22.6m, £16.5m) for the last quarter of 2014 and visitor numbers down by over one million for the year.
Revenue for SeaWorld in Q4 was US$264.5m (€235.6m, £171.4m) – a drop of around US$7.4m (3 per cent) on the previous year’s results in the same period. Total revenue for 2014 was down 6 per cent on 2013. To add to the loss of revenue, SeaWorld’s stock value has plummeted around 50 per cent over the past year and footfall has dropped from 23.4 million to 22.4 million.
The company has been under immense pressure in recent months with the anti-SeaWorld documentary Blackfish causing a raft of problems including proposed legislation banning Orca shows in California, tumbling share value and loss of corporate sponsors. SeaWorld has seen a lot of negative press in regards to the treatment of its animals, most recently hitting the headlines again after the death of a beluga whale at SeaWorld Orlando.
SeaWorld has attempted to fight back against the criticism, revealing plans for a US$100m (€78m, £62m) redevelopment to double the amount of water devoted to orcas at the San Diego park for 2018, with similar upgrades to follow at parks in Orlando, Florida and San Antonio, Texas.
In December, more than 300 SeaWorld employees were laid off and CEO Jim Atchison stepped down from his role in the company. SeaWorld has also said it is attempting to cut about US$50m (€39m, £31m) of its budget by the end of 2015, with more job losses expected to its 25,000-strong workforce.
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