SeaWorld is finally starting to see the top of the hill, as the long battle against bad publicity is reaching a head. The company announced some mixed results in both attendance and profits, but that they are definitely making headway, and things are finally starting to stabilize. While certain areas are still down, the majority of the company is up.
So, how did SeaWorld do over the past three months? In a lot of areas, they made huge improvement, while still battling in areas like attendance. The company announced that they generated revenue of $496.9 million, an increase of $1.1 million, or 0.2%, versus the third quarter of 2014. Adjusted EBITDA was $217.5 million, an increase of $8.3 million, or 4%, compared to $209.1 million in the third quarter of 2014. The Company reported net income of $98.0 million, or $1.14 per diluted share, and Adjusted Net Income of $98.3 million, or $1.14 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2015.
So what does this all mean? Spending at the company is up, things are looking better, but they are not out of the woods yet.
Attendance also showed signs of improvement, with a decrease of just .04% company wide. That means that attendance was up at all but two of the parks in the chain. SeaWorld San Antonio reported a decrease in attendance due to low Fun Card sales in the first part of the year, and heavy rains during the past six weeks which left the park closed for a part of the busy Howl-O-Scream season. Also, flooding in the first part of the season pushed back Fun Card sales in the spring, which effected attendance in the summer.
The other major factor is the continuing decrease in attendance at SeaWorld San Diego. That park is continuing to do battle with activists, but the decrease in attendance has slowed dramatically, indicating that the education efforts of the park are working.
The company is expected to announce a new vision plan for the park on Monday, November 9th, which should include plans for expansion at every park in the brand.
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