 Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (NYSE: FUN), a leader in regional amusement parks, water parks and immersive entertainment, today reported record net revenues for its full-year and fourth-quarter 2018 results. The Company also announced a new long-term Adjusted EBITDA growth target.
Highlights
CEO Commentary Cedar Fair President and CEO Richard A. Zimmerman said, “I am proud of our exceptional team and all that we accomplished in 2018. In particular, we ended the year strongly, achieving new highs in attendance and net revenues for both the fourth quarter and full year. Guests of all ages continue to delight in our immersive entertainment offerings including our Halloween Haunt and WinterFest celebrations. The success and expansion of these events has created momentum heading into 2019 as we are seeing strong sales activity in our advance purchase channels across all categories and all parks. “As we look to the future, we remain committed to providing a compelling entertainment experience throughout the year for guests of all ages and we are confident we will entertain a record number of visitors again in 2019,” continued Zimmerman. “The FUNdamentals of our strategy are to broaden the guest experience through immersive new entertainment offerings that create urgency to visit our parks throughout the year; expand our season pass platform into a long-term relationship-based program to increase lifetime value for, and from, our guests; increase market penetration, particularly among the most attractive and growing audience segments within our markets; and pursue value-enhancing development opportunities adjacent to our parks. These initiatives will help us to achieve our new long-term Adjusted EBITDA goal of $575 million by 2023, and serve as the foundation for future growth well beyond the next five years.” 2018 Full-Year Results For the full year ended Dec. 31, 2018 , Cedar Fair generated record net revenues of $1.35 billion , an increase of $27 million , or 2%, compared with the prior year. Driving this increase was a 1%, or 189,000-visit increase in attendance to a record 25.9 million visits; a 1%, or $0.39 , increase in average in-park guest per capita spending to a record $47.69 ; and a 6%, or $8 million , increase in out-of-park revenues to a record $152 million . The Company attributes the increase in 2018 attendance to its strong second-half performance, including its successful Halloween Haunt and WinterFest events. Six of Cedar Fair’s 11 amusement parks remained open in November and December of 2018, and Canada’s Wonderland nearToronto will add WinterFest to its 2019 calendar of events. Average in-park guest per capita spending improved as a result of increases in both pure in-park spending and non-season pass admissions pricing. The food and beverage category again led the increase in pure in-park spending driven by the continued growth and popularity of the parks’ all-season dining and beverage programs. This is a reflection of the Company’s focus on offering its guests a variety of culinary choices ranging from grab-and-go street fare to more uniquely branded menu items created by each park’s executive chef. The 6% increase in out-of-park revenues was driven primarily from the Company’s resort accommodations. The increased revenues were the result of higher occupancy rates and average daily room rates, combined with a 158-room expansion to the historic Hotel Breakers located on Cedar Point’s mile-long beach. These gains more than offset the revenue lost with the removal of the 187-room Sandcastle Suites hotel at Cedar Pointafter the 2017 season. Operating income for 2018 was $291 million , down 2% when compared with 2017. The 2% increase in revenues was offset by an increase of $30 million , or 3%, in operating costs to $892 million and an increase of $2 million , or 2%, in depreciation and amortization to $156 million . The increase in operating costs, which the Company anticipated, was largely attributable to increased labor costs due to increases in market and minimum wages and, to a lesser extent, increases in operating supplies for personnel-related costs and for the new WinterFest event at the Company’s Kings Dominion park in Virginia . Interest expense for 2018 was comparable with the prior year. The net effect of swaps resulted in a $7 million charge to earnings for 2018 compared with an immaterial impact to earnings in 2017. The difference reflects changes in fair market value for these swaps. During 2018, the Company recognized a $1.1 million loss on early debt extinguishment in connection with amending its 2017 Credit Agreement, as compared with a$23.1 million loss on early debt extinguishment related to its debt refinancing in the first half of 2017. The Company also recognized a $36 millionnet charge to earnings for foreign currency losses compared with a $29 million net benefit to earnings for 2017. Both amounts primarily represent the re-measurement of the U.S. -dollar denominated debt held at the Company’s Canadian property from the applicable currency to the legal entity’s functional currency. A $35 million provision for taxes was recorded for 2018 to account for the tax attributes of the Company’s corporate subsidiaries and publicly traded partnership taxes, compared with a $1 million provision for taxes in 2017. The increase in the 2018 tax provision relates primarily to the prior-year implementation of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Net income for full-year 2018 totaled $127 million , or $2.23 per diluted limited partner (LP) unit, compared with net income of $215 million , or $3.79per diluted LP unit, in 2017. Full-year Adjusted EBITDA, which management believes is a meaningful measure of the Company’s park-level operating results, was $468 million , down 2%, or $11 million , when compared with last year. Adjusted EBITDA declined as attendance growth was more than offset by higher operating costs and expenses primarily attributable to planned seasonal labor rate increases. Although the Company reported record attendance in 2018, attendance growth was lower than anticipated due to disruptive weather patterns during the first half of the year and into the peak vacation month of July. This lower-than-anticipated attendance growth was partially offset by a record August and strong growth in the fourth quarter. See the attached table for a reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBITDA. Long-Term Outlook Introducing the Company’s new long-term strategy Zimmerman stated, “Our mission is simple: To make people happy by providing fun, immersive and memorable experiences. Behind the scenes, our employees are dedicated to creating an experience so extraordinary that our guests want to return again and again, driving sustainable and highly profitable growth. This commitment is fundamental to our culture and will continue to be the foundation of our success.” The Company is targeting $575 million in Adjusted EBITDA by 2023, which implies a 4% compound annual growth rate over the next five years. To achieve the Adjusted EBITDA target, Cedar Fair will focus on the four most compelling opportunities to accelerate its growth and profitability:
Conference Call The Company will host a conference call with analysts today, February 13, 2019 , at 10:00 a.m. EST , to further discuss 2018 results and provide additional detail on its long-term outlook and guidance. The call will be webcast live in “listen only” mode via the Cedar Fair websitehttp://ir.cedarfair.com under Investor Information - Events and Presentations. It will also be available for replay starting at approximately 1:00 p.m. EST , Wednesday, February 13, 2019 , until 11:59 p.m. EST , Wednesday, February 27, 2019 . In order to access the replay of the earnings call, please dial 844-512-2921 followed by the access code 1330238. About Cedar Fair Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (NYSE: FUN), one of the largest regional amusement-resort operators in the world, is a publicly traded partnership headquartered in Sandusky, Ohio . Focused on its mission to make people happy by providing fun, immersive, and memorable experiences, the Company owns and operates 11 amusement parks, including its flagship park, Cedar Point , along with two outdoor water parks, one indoor water park and four hotels. It also operates an additional theme park under a management contract. Its parks are located in Ohio ,California , North Carolina , South Carolina , Virginia , Pennsylvania , Minnesota , Missouri , Michigan and Toronto, Ontario . Forward-Looking Statements Some of the statements contained in this news release constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements as to the Company's expectations, beliefs, goals and strategies regarding the future. These statements may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct, or that the Company's growth strategies will achieve the targeted results. Important factors, including general economic conditions, adverse weather conditions, competition for consumer leisure time and spending, unanticipated construction delays, changes in the Company’s capital investment plans and projects and other factors discussed from time to time by the Company in reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) could affect attendance at the Company’s parks and cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations or otherwise to fluctuate or decrease. Additional information on risk factors that may affect the business and financial results of the Company can be found in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and in the filings of the Company made from time to time with the SEC . The Company undertakes no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This news release and prior releases are available online at http://ir.cedarfair.com View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190213005149/en/ Stacy Frole 419.627.2227 https://ir.cedarfair.com Source: Cedar Fair Entertainment Company
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