Perfect storm impacts EXP

LISTED activities operator Experience Co yesterday reported a six-month loss of $7.1 million, with the business hit by a triple whammy of bushfires, coronavirus and restructuring.

The company is headed by former Tourism Australia CEO John O’Sullivan, who has been undertaking a major strategic review which aims to “reset the business” through process improvements, divestments and cost rationalisation.

Skydiving volume fell 9.3%, with weather conditions and bushfire smoke haze impacting operations from Byron Bay to the Great Ocean Road, and also into Queenstown in New Zealand.

A cyclical downturn in the Tropical North Queensland tourism market also hit the firm’s Great Barrier Reef Experiences division, with Cairns Airport arrivals declining 3.3%.

Chairman Bob East said recent initiatives had provided the group with a stronger balance sheet and improved cost control focus.

“This could not be more timely, with Australian and New Zealand tourism markets experiencing unprecedented near-term uncertainty on the back of the Australian bushfires and COVID-19,” East said.

O’Sullivan said EXP’s management team would continue to proactively mitigate the impact of these events, with the second half of the current financial year being “a period of re-setting the business for improved performance in FY21”.

“Short-term priorities remain unchanged,” O’Sullivan added, and while non-core assets continue to be divested, the company is also “exploring organic growth opportunities and maintaining an acquisition pipeline,” he said.