Village Roadshow has warned that the tragic accident at Ardent Leisure's Dreamworld last October has hurt local attendance at its Gold Coast and Sydney theme parks over the key summer period.
Village Roadshow, which owns the Wet'n'Wild theme parks in Sydney and on the Gold Coast, as well as Warner Bros Movie World and Sea World, said that while the 2017 financial year had started well at its theme parks, the Dreamworld tragedy had weighed on attendances.
Four Dreamworld visitors were killed when their raft flipped over on the Thunder River Rapids ride.
"During the key trading period of December 2016, and January 2017, ticket sales have remained solid when compared with the prior corresponding period. International and interstate visitation remains in line with the prior year," Village said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
"However, attendance by the local Queensland market, which previously represented approximately 60 per cent of attendances, has declined by more than 12 per cent on the prior year since the Dreamworld incident. Wet'n'Wild Sydney appears to have been similarly affected by the incident."
The company said the decline in local attendance in Sydney and the Gold Coast continued into this month.
"Notwithstanding a minimal impact on ticket sales revenue, the decline in attendance has resulted in a deterioration in food and beverage, retail and other in-park revenue. The ongoing impact of the Dreamworld incident will become clearer over the coming weeks."
Village shares plunged 9.4 per cent to finish Monday at $4.03. Ardent Leisure shares slipped 1.9 per cent to $2.10.
Village said it was implementing a number of initiatives and attractions, but believes it will take time for the community to recover from the Dreamworld accident. It is undertaking a "wide front" PR and marketing campaign to try to stimulate local attendance.
The company will report its first half results on February 23.
Earlier this year, Citi analyst Sam Teeger flagged Gold Coast theme parks as an area that might struggle over the summer.
"Minimal rainfall over December 2016 is supportive for theme park visitation. However, the elephant in the room is the impact of Dreamworld's accident on industry visitation," Mr Teeger said.
He also noted Dreamworld's ticket pricing cuts could impact theme park revenues.
"Ahead of its December 10, 2016 re-opening, Dreamworld cut single day tickets and also introduced new cheaper passes/tickets. In our view, the price cuts are not unreasonable, given Dreamworld's brand damage and the fact that some rides have not been operational," he said.
"However, we are concerned whether the price cut results in attendance uplift. We also point to risk on Village's theme park attendance and pricing, from Ardent's price cuts."
