With all 12 of its parks closed since mid-March due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, SeaWorld Entertainment saw its overall revenue and attendance sink 30% during the first quarter, the company reported Friday.
The economic blow was not a surprise given the unprecedented closure. The question was just how big a loss the Orlando-based company would be facing. With no planned reopening date, the company's second quarter results will likely be much gloomier. The first quarter results captured just two weeks of the shutdown.
In all, revenue dropped by $67 million, to $153.6 million, compared with the first three months of 2019, while SeaWorld's net loss for the quarter grew by 53% to $56.5 million. And 1 million fewer people passed through turnstiles at SeaWorld parks, bringing attendance to 2.3 million for the quarter.
Without the onslaught of the coronavirus, SeaWorld could have been looking at a record-breaking quarter, the company suggested in its quarterly report. For the first two months of 2020, attendance increased by 9% to a record 1.9 million guests compared with the first two months of 2019, and revenue shot up 12% to $120.6 million, also a record, SeaWorld said.
"While the world is experiencing an unprecedented global health crisis that has impacted nearly everyone on the planet, we are confident in the
resiliency of our business, our ability to weather this crisis and that we will emerge an even stronger company," said Marc Swanson, SeaWorld's interim CEO.
The company already has furloughed 95% of its workers and announced last month it was raising $227.5 million through a private offering to help tide it over during much leaner times. With no income now coming in from any of its parks, SeaWorld is facing a net outflow of up to $25 million every month even as it continues to cut costs and preserve cash, the company reported in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company, though, says it believes it will be able to sustain that through the final quarter of 2021.
SeaWorld is clearly not alone in the economic pain it is currently suffering. The Walt Disney Co., in its first earnings report since having to close its parks worldwide, reported this week that the hit to its operating income from its parks, resorts and cruises was $1 billion.
While the SeaWorld parks had been enjoying a rebound in attendance and overall revenue in the last couple of years, they have yet to recover entirely from the steady declines they experienced in the years after the 2013 release of the anti-captivity documentary "Blackfish." The company also has undergone considerable turmoil among its top leadership, with its fourth CEO since 2014 quitting last month in a clash with the board.
Although it could be some time before amusement parks are able to reopen, in San Diego, SeaWorld, along with Legoland and the San Diego Zoo, are already crafting a plan for how they will resume operations in a safe manner.
Still a work in progress, their plan calls for temperature and wellness checks for employees, masks for guests and workers, reduced capacity at the parks, a six-foot separation for entry and ride queues, plexi shields at food stations, and regularly disinfecting ride vehicles and touch points.
