Park’s ‘annus horribilis’
VILLAGE Roadshow is hoping its new DC Rivals hyper coaster at Movie World will help pull it out of a financial dive after posting a full-year loss of $66.7 million, down from a $15.7 million profit in the previous year.
The theme parks and cinemas operator also hopes its polar bear cub at Sea World, new seal show and Star Wars film can help boost its fortunes as the industry continues to reel from October’s fatal Dreamworld accident.
Co-chief executive Graham Burke described the 2016-17 financial year as its “annus horribilis”, as visitor numbers and earnings dropped across the sector.
“Stealing from the words of Queen Elizabeth, this truly has been our ‘annus horribilis’,” he said in a statement.
“The good news however is that it doesn’t reflect any underlying issue with our primary business, and there is no doubt with the energy and planning in place that we will turn it around.”
The industry faces likely higher costs ahead following a slew of recommendations over ride safety in the wake the Dreamworld tragedy.
An audit of rides across Queensland found old rides were not being properly tested and young staffers not properly trained.
It made 58 recommendations including a new licensing scheme, more stringent safety audits that could see rides checked piece by piece, and a public safety ombudsman to oversee the sector.
Village Roadshow’s earnings from film distribution also fell in 2016-17, due to the underperformance of films such as Red Dog: True Blue, Power Rangers, Deepwater Horizon and Patriots Day.
Village Roadshow said its cinema exhibition division had an excellent year, boosted by the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, though earnings fell slightly from record levels in the previous year.