07 Aug 2019
Immersive attractions fuel improved attendance and in-park revenues at Cedar Fair
BY Andy Knaggs
Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, which owns and operates 11 amusement parks and five water parks in North America, has reported Q2 and year-to-date results showing "meaningful" improvements in attendance, in-park per capita spending and out-of-park revenues.
The company has provided adjusted figures to compensate for the fact that Q2 2019 included an additional 64 operating days across all its parks compared to Q2 2018, due to a shift in this year's fiscal calendar.
These adjusted figures (described as "on a comparable operating calendar basis"), show that net revenues in Q2 2019 were up by 3 per cent, or US$14m (€12.5m, £11.5m), on a 4 per cent increase in in-park per capita spending, a 4 per cent increase in out-of-park revenues, and a slight decrease in attendance (of 47,000 visits, which is less than 1 per cent).
Adjusted EBITDA was up 5 per cent (or US$7m (€6.25m, £5.75m)) on a comparable operating calendar basis.
Cedar Fair has provided seven-month results, for the period up to 4 August 2019, during which it accrued US$877m (€784m, £723m), including revenues from the Schlitterbahn parks it acquired at the start of July. Excluding these acquisitions, attendance was up by 213,000 visits (1 per cent).
Again excluding the Schlitterbahn parks, net revenues for the first seven months were up by 4 per cent to US$850m (€760m, £700m), with in-park per capita spending up by 3 per cent, and out-of-park revenues up by 4 per cent.
Cedar Fair president and CEO Richard A. Zimmerman said the company's commitment to broadening the guest experience and investing in more immersive attractions was expanding its audience and improving the value perception of its parks.
"We feel very good about how the year is tracking as we move into the month of August, followed by the increasingly important and very popular Halloween and winter holiday events," Zimmerman continued.
"The strength of our core business, combined with the positive early returns we are seeing from the two recently acquired Schlitterbahn water parks, makes us confident that everything is in place this year for a strong finish."
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