Dreamworld owner rides US recovery as Main Event rolls on
THE Ardent Leisure Group, best known as the owner of Queensland theme park Dreamworld, says its US operations are recovering as the performance of its Main Event Entertainment restaurant chain picks up.
The strong performance in the US comes as the company, chaired by corporate raider Gary Weiss, this month signalled its confidence in the Dreamworld resort by unveiling a bold $75m plan to reinvigorate the
Gold Coast theme park with a major hotel.
Main Event, which offers a mix of mid-priced food and family entertainment, last updated the market in late April and since then it has seen strong revenue momentum with constant centre revenue, computed on a two-year basis, up 23 per cent in March and up 40 per cent in April.
For the first week of the May fiscal period, constant centre revenue was up about 8 per cent, reflecting continued strong walk-in revenue, partly offset by the anticipated soft end-of-year school event business during May, which represented about one-quarter of the revenue mix during May 2019.
Of the 44 centres operating across 16 states, 42 have reopened and it is anticipated that the two remaining locations will re-open in May and June. The reopened centres are subject to very few remaining COVID-19 restrictions.
Main Event has generated positive earnings for each of the fiscal periods during the second half of fiscal 2021. The robust profitability during recent periods has been driven by strong revenue generation, significant flowthrough associated with the company‘s high operating leverage, and efficient cost management within the centres and at Main Event’s head office.
On an unaudited basis, Main Event recorded segment earnings, excluding specific items, of $US23.7m ($30.6m)during the combined March and April fiscal periods.