News Quarterly Financial Results

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This, ladies and gentalmen is exactly why I said DO NOT BUY when their stock dropped last quarter.

This should hardly come as a shock, you do not invest and open lines of credit to fund in a down market. People have less cash to spend and the first thing to go are luxury items like, trips to BG.

I would be curious to see their annual pass numbers.
 
About the only good thing out of the report was the company turned a profit for the quarter and not a loss. I find it stupid that they keep on paying out dividends to the sharholders when they are this far in debt (at least their long term debt figure dropped again) and are going to spend big $$$ on the new Orca tanks, which is fine and needed, but are now going to implement cost cutting measures due to declining attendance/revenue.

Here's the summary quote that is posted after the bullet points David provided. “Consistent with the update we provided in August, the attendance trends the Company experienced in the latter part of the second quarter continued into the third quarter. Clearly 2014 has been a challenging year, but I am confident we are taking the necessary steps to address our near term challenges and position the Company to deliver value over the long term,” said Jim Atchison, CEO and President of SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. “We are executing a cost savings plan that is expected to deliver approximately $50 million of annual cost savings by the end of 2015. At the same time, we are adjusting our attraction and marketing plans to address our immediate top-line concerns. While we recognize that we are in the early stages of these initiatives, we firmly believe these actions will enable us to overcome the current challenges we face and enhance our competitive standing.”

Then right after that there's this overseas expansion tidibt; “In the longer term, we have extended our Memorandum of Understanding and continue to work with our partners in the Middle East evaluating the business plan, technical models, and proposed agreements for a multi-park development. The first phase of the project is expected to open in 2020. We also continue to work with Village Roadshow Theme Parks on development opportunities in Asia and other international markets,” Atchison added. Now what good is this going to do for the company as anything that could be gained is far enough down the line that it won't help their current situation. I've gotten to the point where I hope they sell the BG parks to someone that can better run them!
 
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The fireworks are set up. All that's left to do is wait for the fuse to be lit.

This next year is going to be spectacular.
 
I think everyone needs to remember this isn't just about BGW....

The company has no option but to at least hit expectations for next quarter. Seeing as they have nothing new to push up attendance, I for see another miss. Investors are already pissed and jumping ship, one more bad quarter and it's probably game over IMO.
 
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Well isn't this all just swell.

Haven't had a chance to listen to the full call yet, but based on the highlights, here are a few things from this unqualified individual:

- This isn't a surprise. Three major things: the negative publicity (which isn't as big as the anti-caps claim it is, but it is still a factor); the fact that none of the parks opened anything big at the beginning of the summer (and except for BGT, nothing big in the 3rd quarter);and the fact that Disney and Universal BOTH opened large attractions this summer against a big ole nothing at SWO.

- "Cost savings plan" scares the hell out of me. We all know that's code for cost cutting - from a company that is already running pretty lean on the front end at the parks. I hope this "cost savings" comes out of corporate salaries and redundant positions, and not at the expense of the guest experience at the parks. But we know how it will end up.

- Like David said above me, this last quarter absolutely has to do well. They at least have to meet last year's numbers, preferably show a little boost. BGT *should* see a bit of a boost in attendance with CT now being included in regular admission, and the holiday tourists (domestic and foreign) who add a day in their vacation for Falcon's Fury now that it's open. SWO's Christmas event is actually a very nice event - here's hoping they can pull decent numbers against Disney on that. This is perhaps the only event/time of the year that Uni hasn't directly pulled market share from SWO on.



David said:
Is this the first time they haven't blamed the weather?!
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If my memory serves me, last quarter they didn't blame weather either.
 
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Whatever the case may be, something needs to change. And Fast.

Because with no new addition of rides, SeaWorld is constantly under attack from In-state competition, animal rights activists, etc.

What SeaWorld/BG should've done was announce their new rides now to keep visitors enthused.

Unfortunately, they have trapped themselves in a box, and until something changes, more cutbacks will be put into place and the visitor experience will suffer.

I will stick with their brand 100%, but I'm afraid something will happen soon
 
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Not with that attitude.  Just have fun at the parks and the terrible financial news won't matter.  Just sit back with a pretzel ($9.99) soda ($4.99) and watch a show ($3.99, or free if you have the Show Pass Plus addition on your season pass ($24.99)).  Shows not your thing?  Enjoy one of our world class rides like Mountain Dew Presents: Alpengeist Xtreme or the Thirst of DarKastle.  Want more out of your ride experience?  From now until December 1st, pick-your-seat passes are only $35.99 for a full day pass.
 
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Then if the parks pull themselves out of this, they will tell us "We are doing better than ever now! Due to the popularity of the $3.99 show tickets, we are going to double the price of show tickets for twice the fun. Special thanks to our valued pass members and fan base!"
 
whispers said:
Actually BGW had a great attendance year.  The SeaWorld brands tanked though.  Not sure about BGT.
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Without hard PUBLISHED numbers, no one knows. I'm not taking one random persons word for it, sorry.

Either way, BGW's attendance is beside the point. They are run by SEAS. If SEAS doesn't have money, BGW doesn't have money. It's pretty simple. Granted, if BGW is doing fine attendance wise, it could be an easy sell for them. But investors don't give a shit about BGW's attendance alone. They want chain wide attendance to IMPROVE every quarter, not go down each earnings call.

Charging employees for water and revoking benefits is generally a bad sign. It's like when a start up is going to "pivot". It means jump ship.

If I were you, i'd really look deep into what's going on. The stock is the easiest way to gauge a companies health. In case you didn't know, SEAS isn't looking pretty.
 
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I have heard that from reputable people that I trust, but I still find it hard to believe that this year had great attendance. If they mean compared to their other parks, then yes I can see it being better for them. I think it might help them that they are offering more deals and "reasons" to visit the park. This is when I think BGW should cut costs by bringing back old favorites like Corkscrew Hill. That would hardly cost them any money to do it, but fans would be all over it. SeaWorld Orlando and BGT can hardly afford the cuts they already made. Whenever I go to the Florida parks I feel like "Any day now..." I think Tampa was smart with Howl-O-Scream this year. Deadfall did not re-use any old props supposedly. The rest of the event pulled off the "new" illusion very well. The chain will need more cunning trickery like this to survive. Now we know what a "Scorpion" really feels like.
 
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