Theme parks riding high
But virus, floods, fire weigh on expectations
MOVIE World owner Village Roadshow has reported strong growth in earnings at its Gold Coast theme parks, up 7 per cent to $39 million for the first half.
However, it said yesterday it expected a triple whammy of bushfires, floods and the coronavirus outbreak would hit earnings by $3 million in the second half.
The result comes as the company weighs up several takeover bids from private equity firm BGH and another funds group, Pacific Equity Partners.
The PEP deal values the company at $761.2 million, not including debt.
Overall the company posted a net loss of $28.2 million, compared with a $355 million loss in the prior corresponding period, after pre-tax impairments of $39.7 million and a 7.3 per cent drop in revenue to $491.2 million.
The numbers look much better for the Gold Coast theme parks, where pre-tax earnings rose 7 per cent to $39 million and attendance lifted 12 per cent to 2.58 million.
Village said the earnings growth was driven by the higher visitation and a 6 per cent increase in ticket yields.
It also said its Fright Nights events at Movie World drove records for ticket sales and spending within the park.
Sea World attendance was also 7 per cent higher and average daily room rates at the resort up by 3 per cent to $227. Village shares closed the session down 2.2 per cent at $3.86.
It wasn’t all good news for the company’s Gold Coast assets.
Attendance at Top Golf fell from 247,000 to 201,000 for the six-month period, while earnings dropped $200,000 to $2.4 million.
The company is banking on its new Vortex ride at Sea World, due to open in time for the Easter school holidays, to provide a further attendance boost.