United Parks Q3 Revenue Falls Short Due To Hurricane Impact, But Future Demand And Sales Show Resilience

United Parks & Resorts Inc. (NYSE:PRKS) reported third-quarter 2024 revenue of $545.901 million, a slight decline of 0.4% year-over-year, missing the consensus estimate of $550.473 million.

Third quarter EPS was $2.08 (+8.3% year over year), below the analyst consensus of $2.22.

Attendance reached 7 million guests. That’s down by about 100,000 or 1.4% compared to Q3 2023. The attendance decline was mainly due to Hurricanes Debby and Helene, during peak periods.

Total revenue per capita rose 1.0% to $77.66 from Q3 2023. Admission per capita increased 0.5% to $42.24, while in-park spending per capita grew 1.6% to a record $35.42.

“The combined impact of the calendar shift and the meaningfully worse weather was approximately 320,000 guests, adjusting for these impacts, attendance would have increased approximately 3% compared to the prior year quarter, as we continue to see strong demand for our parks during normalized operating conditions and we are growing total revenue per capita,” United Parks CEO Marc Swanson said.

The company delivered record in-park per capita spending during the quarter, Swanson added, citing growth for 17 of the last 18 quarters of growth

Adjusted EBITDA was $258.4 million for the quarter, a decline of 3% YoY, and the margin contracted 126 bps to 47.3%.

In Q3, the company repurchased 4.1 million shares for $211.7 million. Some $74.9 million remains in the program as of Sept. 30. An additional 0.8 million shares were repurchased for $37.7 million by November 6.

The operating cash flow for the third quarter was $122.998 million, down from $163.556 million a year ago. Free cash flow stood at $67.605 million.

Looking ahead to 2025, the company reports strong forward demand, with ticket sales, group bookings, and Discovery Cove bookings showing double-digit growth over the last year. The recently launched premium pass program, featuring enhanced benefits, has driven sales up over 10% since its debut. Year-to-date results continue to highlight the resilience of the business model and the rising demand for the parks’ unique offerings.

Total liquidity stood at $759 million with a net leverage ratio of 2.98x as of Sept. 30. In the quarter, the company expanded its credit facility from $390 million to $700 million, reducing costs by 50 basis points.

Price Action: PRKS shares are trading higher by 2.08% to $58.3 at last check Thursday.

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