Attendance at SeaWorld Entertainment parks continued its more than year-long upward streak, with visitation growing to more than 3.3 million during the first quarter of 2019 _ an increase of nearly 4 percent over the same time period a year earlier, the company reported Tuesday.
While the growth rate was significantly less than the 15 percent jump in visitation recorded during the first quarter of 2018, it marks the fifth consecutive quarter of attendance gains for the Orlando-based theme park company. Likewise, revenue was also up, increasing 1.6 percent to $220.6 million. The gains came despite unfavorable weather that dampened visitation at some SeaWorld parks and an earlier spring break in some of its markets.
"Our improved results reflect our focus on improved marketing and communications initiatives, new pricing strategies, and the favorable guest reception to our new rides and compelling attractions and events," said CEO Gus Antorcha, who joined the company in February. "Our results also reflect the impact of our successful and ongoing efforts to reduce costs. Despite this solid start to the year, we know we still have significant opportunity for further improvement."
SeaWorld's continued gains are a sharp reversal of what previously was seen as a company in retreat, suffering through quarter after quarter of weak financial performance and a marked slide in attendance. In addition to introducing attractions and rides at a more frequent pace, the company continues to find ways to cut costs, including an unspecified number of layoffs last month.
Beating Wall Street analysts' expectations last quarter, SeaWorld trimmed its net loss to $37 million, a 41 percent improvement over a nearly $63 million loss a year ago.
Both revenue and admissions per capita were down during the first quarter, although in-park spending on such things as food and merchandise was up a modest 1.5 percent, SeaWorld reported.
