Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
SeaWorld attendance, revenues keep rising
New CEO vows to stay the course as 1st quarter numbers continue rebound
A mid another quarter of soaring attendance and revenue, SeaWorld’s CEO, who is less than two weeks on the job, said the company’s business model is staying the course under his leadership.
“Our strategy is unchanged,” Gus Antorcha told analysts in his brief remarks during Thursday’s earnings call after the first quarter results of the year showed an 8 percent jump in attendance during the Christmas holidays and revenue up 6 percent to $280 million compared with the same time a year ago.
The plan to maintain many of the current initiatives, such as fine-tuning pricing, is still underway, he said.
SeaWorld Entertainment’s rebound has continued for a full year now, and company leaders said they believe there are opportunities to keep growing.
Fourth quarter earnings showed SeaWorld’s attendance at its parks across the country hit 4.6 million visitors or about 300,000 more than 2017’s fourth quarter. For the entire 2018 year, 22.6 million guests entered the turnstiles, up about 9 percent year-over-year.
Adjusted earnings for the quarter also increased to $64.6 million, an improvement of $16.2 million, or 33 percent, from 2017, the company said.
Leaders said they are aiming for $475 million to $500 million in adjusted earnings by 2020, which by then SeaWorld will be competing with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and an expansion at Universal Orlando Resort.
Upcoming attractions at SeaWorld’s 12 parks are scheduled to open or early this year and are likely to be popular among visitors, they said.
No opening date was given for Sesame Street land, which is under construction at SeaWorld Orlando and slated to debut this spring.
“We’re in really good shape,” said John Reilly, now the company’s chief operating officer after leading as interim CEO for much of 2018 during the turnaround. “We’re making a lot of process.”
Other new rides, like the Tigris roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay or an adrenaline water slide at Aquatica Orlando water park, have a formula for success because the company built them before, Reilly said.
Antorcha, 44, chief operations officer at Carnival Cruise Lines before he took over SeaWorld, spoke briefly and answered a few questions during Thursday’s call.
He said many of the things he dealt with for cruises, issues such as marketing and pricing, were similar to running a theme park.
“We have a terrific team of employees. I’m excited and honored to be working with them,” Antorcha said.