In a rare piece of positive news, theme park operator SeaWorld Entertainment announced double-digit growth in park attendance and revenue.
The last nine months have seen 1.4 million more guests at its 12 parks with revenue up by $90 million.
The 10% boost in revenue and attendance represents a strong turnaround compared to a year ago when both revenue and attendance were down by about 10%.
The company announced the unaudited preliminary figures ahead of its third-quarter earnings release due to ‘potential debt refinancing.’
For the last three months ending September, SeaWorld welcomed 700,000 more guests, continuing a mini revival which saw increased visitation in the second quarter.
SeaWorld’s stock price has also seemingly turned the corner and has more than doubled so far this year following a bleak period lasting years due to the ‘Blackfish’ controversy.
It’s still early days to say if the turnaround will be sustainable long term, said Bob Boyd, a theme park analyst at Pacific Asset Management.
"They have had a very good year but when you’ve had several years of down results, it’s easier to generate growth from a lower level. I think they have made progress on the killer whale issues, you also have a strong economy, and they’ve been very aggressive on pricing to bring people back to the parks. It took a long time to get to this point but I wouldn’t say the pressures are behind them," Boyd said.
