SeaWorld Entertainment has released its latest earnings report and numbers were down across the board. Revenue for the year was $1.37 billion, down 6 percent from $1.46 billion the year before. Looking just at the fourth-quarter, revenue was down 3 percent to $264.5 million from $271.9 million.
Net income was down a staggering 96 percent, with a reported $25.4 million net loss in the last quarter of 2014. The same quarter in 2013 saw a $13 million net loss. Net income was $49.9 million, down 4 percent from $51.9 million in 2013.
The year’s attendance was recorded at 22.4 million, down 1 million from 2013.
David D’Alessandro, chairman and interim CEO, mentioned that they “are making progress on our search for a new CEO and are on pace to complete the process within the six- to nine-month time frame we originally estimated.” Jim Atchison, the former CEO, stepped down in January. He remains vice chairman of the board.
D’Alessandro also mentioned that a new public relations campaign was in the works to be launched in April, with hopes to reverse some of the decreasing attendance and bad PR from the Blackfish film. The campaign “will be a long-term initiative that will focus on people who have mixed feelings about the park” and give them a positive view of SeaWorld. He said admission prices would not be raised, even though Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando both raised prices in the last week. This is a change from the norm; SeaWorld usually follows suit and raises prices in the days following the other parks’ announcements.
News sources: Orlando Business Journal and Click Orlando
Photo credit: Jim Carchidi for the Orlando Business Journal
