Cedar Fair revenue down for second quarter, up overall for first half

Posted | Contributed by Jeff

Cedar Fair net revenues for the quarter ended June 27, 2004, decreased slightly to $145.0 million from $145.2 million in 2003, on a 1% decrease in combined attendance and a 2% increase in average in-park guest per capita spending. Over this same period, out-of-park revenues, including resort hotels, decreased 4% between years. Excluding the acquisition of Geauga Lake, net revenues in the quarter decreased 5% to $138.1 million, on an 8% decrease in combined attendance and a 3% increase in average in-park guest per capita spending.

For the first six months of the year, net revenues were up 1% from last year, on a 2% increase in average in-park guest per capita spending, offset somewhat by a slight decrease in combined attendance and a 2% decrease in out-of-park revenues. Excluding the contribution of Geauga Lake, net revenues in the six-month period decreased 3% to $161.3 million, on a 6% decrease in combined attendance and a 3% increase in average in-park guest per capita spending.

Read the press release from Cedar Fair.

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I'm not surprised at all. Capital expenditures this year were too modest (if you don't count the construction of Castaway Bay). Heck, Dorney ditched a coaster and built a flat ride. I can sympathize for the weather a little, at least in Cleveland. We had 13 days where it never got even to 75 in June, and May rainfall was 60% over normal.

I think it's more obvious than ever that they need to put in a new ride at Geauga Lake next year.

Of course you'd expect drops at CP and VF the season after new coasters were built. VF is competing against its own division with the introduction of KCS-MOA's Timberland Twister.

But what's the deal with WOF? Are they capitalizing at all on their new coaster? If there was good news to tell, I'm sure we'd have heard it by now.

-'Playa

Wow, that's not good. I guess we'll all have to wait a little longer for the stock price to go up. Maybe this will affect what CP builds next year, and hopefully it will indeed bring a new coaster to GL. However, I still think that Silver Bullet, Hydra, Castaway Bay and WoF's new coaster should carry the chain well enough next year.

Whatever they're doing next year at CP I'm sure has already been decided.

Eh, I guess it is a little late for them to push any future projects up. But then I guess the same thing goes for GL.

4% decrease in hotel/out of park revenue is pretty significant. The construction of Castaway Bay might explain lower occupancy at Radisson but it sounds like the other hotels and Camper Village/Lighthouse Point must be under expectation. I wonder if they have pushed the limits of room rates on Point and it is now being seen is less bookings.

From the conference call:
GL will not only lose attendance, but lose money this season. They call their expectations 'near break-even,' so there you go. They underestimated the impact of the animal park's loss in terms of school trips and group bookings. Their '05 and '06 cap ex plans should remedy that.

It seems they're talking more about developing GL as a full resort destination rather than a regional one-day park.

Knotts, DP and MiA meeting expectations. Expect MiA hyper rumors to surface any time now. ;)

CP quarterly attendance down 6%, weather cited
VF down 8% with Avalanche and TT opening in the area
WoF down 3% despite the addition of Spinning Dragons
Waterparks down 9% with a significant share of that drop from OoF.

-CO
*** This post was edited by CoastaPlaya 8/3/2004 3:03:09 PM ***

A few concerns I have about this:
1. The only three parks meeting expectations are probably the three worst parks to have do this. MiA may be meeting expectations but draws only a tiny percentage of CF's profits, and KBF and DP have large investments for next year.

2. GL seems to be a royal mess. Now that it appears they are losing money on the season, I have to wonder if it would have been better to close it this summer. I know it seems crazy, but with all the bad press and probably bad experiences guests have had this year, all they have to show for it is a net loss. I think they should have closed it and used the valuable summer months to get a lot of the changes out of the way.

3. Is WoF getting a new ride next year? I've heard they are and it will be along the lines of a Silver Bullet. I've also heard they aren't. With WoF and OoF doing so poorly, I'm praying they build something.

Even if GL is operating at a loss, you can't generate revenue to pay back your loans if you're not open! Keeping the park closed was not an option.

I suppose it wasn't, but it would have been the ideal thing to do. Actually, the more and more I read about this report and listen to the conference call, the less I am worried. I'll take these results for an off year any day.

"3. Is WoF getting a new ride next year? I've heard they are and it will be along the lines of a Silver Bullet. I've also heard they aren't. With WoF and OoF doing so poorly, I'm praying they build something."

They will NOT get a new coaster just one year after Spinning Dragons. That would be so not smart! Especialy an Invert.

Valleyfair! just came off a very, very, very good year for attendance thanks in large part to Steel Venom! I'm thinking it was their best year yet? So to come off a year like that, you'd expect it to go down alittle.

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