Posted
From the press release:
SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc., a leading theme park and entertainment company, today reported its financial results for the third quarter and first nine months of fiscal year 2023.
Third Quarter 2023 Highlights
- Attendance was 7.1 million guests, a decrease of approximately 0.2 million guests or 2.8% from the third quarter of 2022.
- Total revenue was $548.2 million, a decrease of $17.0 million or 3.0% from the third quarter of 2022.
- Net income was $123.6 million, a decrease of $11.0 million or 8.2% from the third quarter of 2022.
- Adjusted EBITDA[1] was $266.4 million, a decrease of $7.8 million or 2.8% from the third quarter of 2022.
- Total revenue per capita[2] decreased 0.2% to $76.90 from the third quarter of 2022. Admission per capita[2] decreased 1.6% to $42.05 while in-park per capita spending[2] increased 1.6% to a record $34.85 from the third quarter of 2022.
First Nine Months 2023 Highlights
- Attendance was 16.6 million guests, a decrease of 0.4 million guests or 2.1% from the first nine months of 2022.
- Total revenue was $1,337.6 million, a decrease of $3.1 million or 0.2% from the first nine months of 2022.
- Net income was $194.1 million, a decrease of $48.0 million or 19.8% from the first nine months of 2022.
- Adjusted EBITDA was $563.1 million, a decrease of $11.5 million or 2.0% from the first nine months of 2022.
- Total revenue per capita increased 1.9% to a record $80.36 from the first nine months of 2022. Admission per capita increased 1.3% to a record $44.07, while in-park per capita spending increased 2.7% to a record $36.29 from the first nine months of 2022.
Other Highlights
- Total per capita spending was up low single-digits in October. On a comparable day over comparable day basis adjusting for the calendar shift that resulted in one less Saturday compared to prior year, the Company estimates revenue and attendance would have been up low single-digits.
- During the third quarter, the Company repurchased 78,750 shares for an aggregate total of approximately $3.9 million, leaving approximately $38.5 million remaining under the Share Repurchase Program as of September 30, 2023.
- During the third quarter of 2023, the Company came to the aid of 56 animals in need in the wild. The total number of animals the Company has helped over its history is more than 40,000.
"We are pleased to report another quarter of solid financial results despite the impact of unusual and significantly adverse weather in our peak operating season across most of our markets." said Marc Swanson, Chief Executive Officer of SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. "Our results during the third quarter continue to demonstrate the resilience of our business, the effectiveness of our strategy and the tireless efforts of our outstanding team. We are particularly pleased to continue to see strong results from our focus, efforts and investment in our in-park offerings as we grew in-park per capita spending for the 14th consecutive quarter to a record level during the quarter. We are excited to see the continued results of our ongoing work in this area in the coming quarters into 2024. Our relentless focus on cost management also continued to deliver as we improved adjusted EBITDA margin on a year-over-year basis for the quarter. We are continuing to execute against our previously discussed cost initiatives and expect to continue to see the results of these efforts in the coming quarters into 2024," said Marc Swanson, Chief Executive Officer of SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. "I want to thank our ambassadors across our parks for their dedicated efforts to welcome and serve our guests during the busy summer season.
"We've just completed another successful Halloween season at our parks featuring our award-winning Halloween events. We are pleased to have grown per capita spending in October and after adjusting for the calendar shift that resulted in one less Saturday compared to prior year, we estimate attendance and revenue would have grown as well. We are proud of the continued strength of our Halloween events and the popularity that they continue to build with our guests. As we enter the holiday season, we will begin our award-winning Christmas events at most of our SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Sesame parks later this week. Our Christmas events feature exciting live entertainment, delicious and unique food and beverage offerings and holiday shopping for guests of all ages.