SeaWorld Entertainment reports to have delivered a rough Q on the surface where the revenue rate is 3% since year 2014’s 2Q (of course pathetic as it is than 2% annual dip as per analysts).
Adjusted earnings of US$ 0.22/share fell well short of both the US$ 0.43/share it posted a year earlier and the US$ 0.40/share that Wall Street pros were hopeful of. Furthermore, since 2014’s springtime Q, attendance had been dipping (something that the market has seen in all but 2Qs). If experiencing a 1.6% year-over-year drop in attendance isn’t bad enough, the average guest spent 1.8% less than a year earlier as a result of a 2.8% drop in the average price to get in and flat in-park spending.
These are the following reasons why SeaWorld stock moved higher:
- Attendance is actually higher so far in year 2015. After back-to-back years of 4% declines in annual attendance, we’re off to a better start this year. SeaWorld has entertained approximately 9.7 million guests across its parks through the first six months of the year, almost 0.7% ahead of year 2014.
- Reports have further shown, as great as first Q may have seemed in terms of turnstile clicks, the average price to get in plunged 5.6% as compared to 2014 and in-park spending per capita has dipped at 1.7%.
- Also, Adjusted EBITDA should improve nicely during the second half. The park reaffirmed its guidance calling for flat to slightly positive adjusted EBITDA for all in year 2015, that’s essential because it has fallen 12.5% through the first half of the year.
The stock continues to trade near its all-time lows, and is still far from the peak audience and financials of 2012. SeaWorld Entertainment surely has a long way to go on.
