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@BGWnut for me the best news to come out of today's presentation is the following breakdown of their realized $100 mm cost savings:

View attachment 22222

If they were planning on adjusting the recurring capex commitment of $150 mm annually; I would definitely think they would have used this breakout to show it and make their cost savings even more impressive.

So my takeaway is we're still on for $150 mm in new attractions per year.
That's my understanding from what I've heard. I wonder why they won't comment on it? Maybe they don't want to commit either way until it's clear when they will be opening 2020 attractions.
 
@BGWnut for me the best news to come out of today's presentation is the following breakdown of their realized $100 mm cost savings:

If they were planning on adjusting the recurring capex commitment of $150 mm annually; I would definitely think they would have used this breakout to show it and make their cost savings even more impressive.

So my takeaway is we're still on for $150 mm in new attractions per year.

I'm not sure if you can read that out of this breakout.
Everything listed here is expenses while the $150mm should be considered investments.

Companies usually don't throw those 2 together I think. You can't reduce cost by eliminating investments.
 
I'm not sure if you can read that out of this breakout.
Everything listed here is expenses while the $150mm should be considered investments.

Companies usually don't throw those 2 together I think. You can't reduce cost by eliminating investments.
I agree, but I do think that we would have heard something if they were cancelling this investment strategy. By not saying anything, I think they are signaling that they will continue to do so in the future
 
Swanson confirmed year round ops here to stay at BGW.

New mobile app in dev. Swanson admitted the current app sucks.
The new mobile app should be awesome. I've heard some rumors about what it'll be able to do and if SEAS can deliver on it then it won't just be an improvement over their current app but might be the best app in the industry.
 
The new mobile app should be awesome. I've heard some rumors about what it'll be able to do and if SEAS can deliver on it then it won't just be an improvement over their current app but might be the best app in the industry.

Is there any sense if they plan to have people be able to reserve through it? That seems like a fairly critical way to help ease some of the frustration with the reservation system likely sticking around for the foreseeable future.
 
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The new mobile app should be awesome. I've heard some rumors about what it'll be able to do and if SEAS can deliver on it then it won't just be an improvement over their current app but might be the best app in the industry.

As long as they're thinking about the guests using it first and the technicals of making things happen second (plus actually making the front-end useful and attractive), they should be ok.
 
Q1 earnings call is scheduled for May 6. I think this could be a logical time to find out more about all the new coasters opening dates, or at least the Florida ones. Northam also said Monday he is hopeful for a reduction or elimination of restrictions mid to late May. Hopefully trends continue in positive ways!
 
It will be interesting to see what the financial results are for the company for their first quarter. Investors and Wall Street are still bullish on the company as their stock closed at like $54.92 last night and opened up higher this morning.
 
2021 First Quarter Results for those who are interested.

ORLANDO, FL, May 6, 2021 - SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: SEAS), a leading theme park and entertainment company, today reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2021.[1]

First Quarter 2021 Highlights
Attendance was 2.2 million guests, a decline of 0.1 million guests, or 4.5%, from the first quarter of 2020. Compared to the first quarter of 2019, attendance declined by 1.1 million guests or 33.7%.
Total revenue was $171.9 million, an increase of $18.4 million, or 12.0% from the first quarter of 2020. Compared to the first quarter of 2019, total revenue declined by $48.7 million or 22.1%.
Net loss was $44.9 million, an improvement of $11.6 million or 20.6% from the first quarter of 2020. Compared to the first quarter of 2019, net loss increased by $7.9 million or 21.2%.
Adjusted EBITDA[2] was $25.2 million, an increase of $56.0 million from the first quarter of 2020. Compared to the first quarter of 2019, Adjusted EBITDA increased by $8.8 million or 53.4%.
Total revenue per capita increased 17.2% to $77.63 from the first quarter of 2020. Admission per capita increased 10.8% to $43.25 while in-park per capita spending increased 26.4% to $34.38 from the first quarter of 2020. Compared to the first quarter of 2019, total revenue per capita increased 17.6%, admission per capita increased 12.0%, while in-park per capita spending increased 25.3%.

Other

As of March 31, 2021, the Company had approximately $431 million of cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet and approximately $312 million available on its revolving credit facility resulting in total liquidity of approximately $743 million.
The Company estimates that its average monthly Adjusted Net Cash Flow[2] during the quarter was approximately $5.1 million of net positive cash flows, which excludes certain payments to vendors due in and deferred from previous quarters. The Company estimates that the average monthly Net Cash Burn[2] during the quarter was approximately $1.1 million when including these deferred payments.
As of March 31, 2021, 10 of the Company’s 12 parks were open (which is consistent with the same period in 2019). Parks continue to operate with capacity limitations and modified/limited operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As previously stated, the Company expects to operate all 12 of its parks for their 2021 operating season. Park opening dates are subject to change based on federal, state, and local guidelines related to COVID-19.
In the first quarter of 2021, the Company helped rescue over 530 animals bringing total rescues over its history to more than 38,600.

“Our first quarter financial results continue to demonstrate our ability to strategically operate in the current environment,” said Marc Swanson, Chief Executive Officer of SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. “I am extremely proud that we not only generated positive Adjusted Net Cash Flow during the quarter, but we achieved higher Adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter compared to the first quarter of 2019. The success of the strategic pricing, marketing, cost and capital investment initiatives that we developed and had been refining prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic combined with the strategies we developed and actions we have taken during the COVID-19 pandemic period helped us deliver meaningfully positive first quarter Adjusted EBITDA when compared to both the first quarters of 2020 and 2019. Our pricing and product strategies are clearly working, and our guests are spending more when they visit our parks. Our first quarter events including new or expanded event days at some of our parks as well as several new or reimagined venues we launched during the quarter helped contribute to the increased guest spending.


First Quarter 2021 Results

In the first quarter of 2021, the Company hosted approximately 2.2 million guests, generated total revenues of $171.9 million, a net loss of $44.9 million and positive Adjusted EBITDA of $25.2 million. Total attendance for the quarter decreased by 0.1 million, or 4.5%, when compared to the prior year quarter.

Total revenue for the quarter increased by $18.4 million, or 12.0%, when compared to the prior year quarter. The improvement was a result of an increase in total revenue per capita partially offset by the decline in attendance. Admission per capita (defined as admissions revenue divided by total attendance) increased by 10.8% to $43.25 primarily due to the realization of higher prices in admission products resulting from the Company’s strategic pricing efforts when compared to the prior year quarter. Attendance declined due to COVID-19 related impacts including capacity limitations and modified/limited operations, which more than offset the impact of additional operating days in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2020. Operating days increased by 34% when compared to the prior year quarter, due in part to the temporary park closures which fell during the spring break period in 2020 at most of the Company’s parks. In-park per capita spending (defined as food, merchandise and other revenue divided by total attendance) increased 26.4% to $34.38 primarily due to increased guest spending, an improved product mix and higher realized prices and fees during the quarter. The Company’s new and enhanced in park offerings, particularly for food, beverage and retail items, along with its events contributed to the increased guest spending for the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was positively impacted by the increase in total revenue resulti ng from improvement in total revenue per capita and a decrease in expenses. The decrease in expenses is due primarily to a reduction in labor costs, marketing related costs and other operating costs resulting from structural cost savings initiatives and the impact of COVID-19 modified/limited operations, which more than offset the impact of additional operating days during the first quarter of 2021.

There was also a posting/announcement of " Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers." The posting had these four categories: Appointment of Chief Executive Officer, Appointment of Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Compensation of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer and Equity Awards to Certain Executive Officers.
 
Here are the numbers for the 2021 Second Quarter and the first six months of the Fiscal Year.

Second Quarter 2021 Highlights
Attendance was 5.8 million guests, an increase of 5.5 million guests from the second quarter of 2020. Compared to the second quarter of 2019, attendance declined by 0.7 million guests or 10.1%.

Total revenue was a record $439.8 million, an increase of $421.8 million from the second quarter of 2020. Compared to the second quarter of 2019, total revenue increased by $33.8 million or 8.3%.

Net income was a record $127.8 million, an increase of $258.8 million from the second quarter of 2020. Compared to the second quarter of 2019, net income increased by $75.1 million or 142.7%.

Adjusted EBITDA[2] was a record $218.8 million, an increase of $272.7 million from the second quarter of 2020. Compared to the second quarter of 2019, Adjusted EBITDA increased by $69.1 million or 46.2%.

Total revenue per capita increased 14.2% to a record $75.71 from the second quarter of 2020. Admission per capita increased 16.5% to $41.87 while in-park per capita spending increased 11.6% to $33.84 from the second quarter of 2020. Compared to the second quarter of 2019, total revenue per capita increased 20.5%, admission per capita increased 18.8%, while in-park per capita spending increased 22.7%.

First Six Months 2021 Highlights
Attendance was 8.0 million guests, an increase of 5.4 million guests from the first six months of 2020. Compared to the first six months of 2019, attendance declined by 1.8 million guests or 18.1%.

Total revenue was $611.7 million, an increase of $440.1 million from the first six months of 2020. Compared to the first six months of 2019, total revenue declined by $14.9 million or 2.4%.

Net income was a record $82.9 million, an increase of $270.4 million from the first six months of 2020. Compared to the first six months of 2019, net income increased by $67.2 million.

Adjusted EBITDA was a record $244.0 million, an increase of $328.7 million from the first six months of 2020. Compared to the first six months of 2019, Adjusted EBITDA increased by $77.9 million or 46.9%.

Total revenue per capita increased 15.1% to a record $76.24 from the first six months of 2020. Admission per capita increased 9.2% to $42.25 while in-park per capita spending increased 23.5% to $33.99 from the first six months of 2020. Compared to the first six months of 2019, total revenue per capita increased 19.3%, admission per capita increased 16.1%, while in-park per capita spending increased 23.5%.

Other Highlights
As of June 30, 2021, the Company’s total available liquidity was $927.8 million, including $615.8 million of cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet and $312.0 million available on its revolving credit facility.

Cash flow from operations was a record $229.7 million and $248.1 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, respectively. Free Cash Flow[2] was a record $200.0 million and $203.1 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, respectively.

As of June 30, 2021, all the Company’s parks were open and operating without COVID-19-related capacity limitations.

In the second quarter of 2021, the Company helped rescue almost 500 animals bringing total rescues over its history to over 39,100.

“I am pleased to report that, despite continuing to operate in a highly challenging and COVID-19 impacted environment, momentum from the first quarter continued into the second quarter and we delivered strong second quarter financial results – including record revenue, net income and Adjusted EBITDA,” said Marc Swanson, Chief Executive Officer of SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. “Our strong financial performance through the first half of the year underscores both the resilience of our business and our commitment to emerge from this extraordinary environment an even stronger and more profitable business. During the second quarter we also generated record Free Cash Flow that further bolsters our already strong balance sheet. Our pricing and product strategies, along with the strong consumer demand environment, continued to drive higher realized pricing and strong guest spending resulting in record total revenue per capita in the quarter. Despite the progress we have made, we continue to believe there are significant additional opportunities to improve our execution and continue to drive meaningful growth in both revenue and Adjusted EBITDA.”

“We were also pleased to recently receive recognition from USA Today readers for having some of the best parks and attractions in the country. Our SeaWorld Orlando park was voted best amusement park in the United States, our Mako rollercoaster in SeaWorld Orlando was voted best rollercoaster in the United States, Aquatica Orlando was voted best outdoor waterpark in the United States and Celtic Fyre at Busch Gardens Williamsburg was voted best amusement park entertainment in the United States. Several of our other parks and attractions received top ten rankings as well. We are thrilled to receive these awards and proud of the ambassadors in our parks that help deliver amazing guest experiences,” continued Swanson.

“Looking ahead, next month we will begin our Halloween events including our daytime, family-oriented SeaWorld Spooktacular event at our SeaWorld parks and our night-time Howl-O-Scream event at all of our Busch Gardens and SeaWorld parks, including for the first time ever at SeaWorld Orlando and SeaWorld San Diego. We are excited about adding this popular event for our thrill-seeking, adult guests in Orlando and San Diego. We are also planning on strategically adding operating days in the second half of the year versus 2019. Looking further out, we are making progress on building Sesame Place in San Diego and look forward to opening that park next year. In addition, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, the first SeaWorld park outside of the United States, is on track to complete construction by the end of 2022,” concluded Swanson.
 
Pretty crazy that with 10% fewer guests (vs 2019) they could grow revenue by 8%.

I think this is reflective of their skeleton crews and extreme cost cutting.
 
Revenues shouldn't directly reflect expenses at all, just the money coming in.

People are spending more per person to get in, and then spending considerably more per person once they are in the parks.

Though other metrics do consider costs, and those seem to be at record levels too, to your point... 🙂

Seems like a whole lot of good news overall.

Among a handful of thoughts, one that troubles me in particular is that this now becomes the benchmark against which future financial performance is measured, on both the revenue and the cost sides. There are so many angles to that question; I started trying to type them all out, and then just stopped. Short version -- I hope the overall park experience can return in the mid-term future to what we had circa 2019, without being pressured downward by financial comparisons to this period of financial history.
 
I'm a bit surprised that not getting their membership payments does not seem to have any negative effect on their revenue.
 
Just read the transcript. Couple of takeaways that haven't been mentioned...

1) No news on any of the rides sitting idle. As discussed here and elsewhere, no need to open these rides given these kinds of numbers.
2) Delta variant is having zero impact (thus far) on attendance at Florida parks, per response to analyst question.
 
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