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Good start to fiscal year for Cedar Fair Entertainment
The US operator Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, which manages twenty parks and resorts in the United States and Canada, has had a good start to the 2013 season, with its key financial and operational indicators on the rise.
During an investor presentation held at Cedar Point shortly before the end of the first half of its fiscal year, Cedar Fair explained that the positive trend observed in the first quarter was continued in the second. As of June 23, 2013, its net revenues are up 5% compared to 2012, a result of a 4% increase in average spending per guest and 1% increase in attendance. Out-of-park revenues, mainly from hotel management, are also up 5% over the period which represents about a third of annual sales.
"As a result of our marketing efforts and the solid execution of our plan, season pass sales have increased approximately 20% when compared with this time last year. We are also pleased with the growth we are seeing in revenue per capita which is strong evidence of the traction in our pricing strategy as well as an indicator of the great value our guests see in our product," said Brian Witherow, executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Given the current figures and sales forecasts, Cedar Fair's President and CEO Matt Ouimet confirmed that the group expects another record year: "As we enter into the peak summer season, we are once again seeing the positive impact of our on-going investment in the guest experience at all of our parks. Based on our 2013 performance to date, we reaffirm our 2013 guidance for net revenue in the range of $1.090 billion to $1.115 billion and Adjusted EBITDA to be between $400 million to $410 million. We also remain well on track to achieve our targeted Adjusted EBITDA of at least $450 million by 2016. Our continued success is driven by our strong management team and dedicated employees, our well-known regional brands and the high-quality of our assets."
Cedar Fair performs a rigorous investment strategy to enhance the strengths and fill in the gaps of each of its properties. The company alternates new thrill rides, new family attractions and infrastructure improvements to maximize target audience and visitor spending. It also focuses attention on maximizing sales through the optimization of in-parks spendings (retail shops, restaurants, snack stands, carts and games), the use of new technologies (for example with FastPay, a pre-paid gift card program) and Internet (deployment of a new e-commerce platform).
This season, Cedar Fair has focused its investments plan on its two major amusement parks: Cedar Point (Ohio) and Knott's Berry Farm (California). They both have benefited from placemaking, a strategy that aims to transform an existing place to improve the guest experience. Cedar Point has redesigned its main entrance area to make it more contemporary while incorporating into it a Wing Coaster from Bolliger & Mabillard (GateKeeper) for a total of over $30 million. As for Knott's Berry Farm, the group's only park open all year, it expanded an existing themed area on the location of the former Perilous Plunge water ride (demolished in late 2012) with three new attractions including a Wild Mouse supplied by MACK Rides.
Other parks in the group that have benefited from large investments this season are: California's Great America with a wooden coaster designed by Great Coasters International (Gold Striker), Kings Dominion in Virginia with an expansion of the children theme zone Planet Snoopy and Worlds of Fun in Missouri that has doubled the size of its water park Oceans of Fun including with six new water slides.
With a little over 23.6 million visitors in 2012, Cedar Fair is currently the seventh largest theme park operators worldwide, behind its main competitor in the North American market for regional parks: Six Flags.
Cedar Fair's half-year results will be reported early August.
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