Merlin Entertainments falls in spite of revenue growth
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Theme park operator Merlin Entertainments (LON:MERL) has said that organic revenues for the 40 weeks ended 6th October were 2.6% higher than during the prior year, driven primarily by new business development. Warm weather helped its resort theme parks deliver 9% organic revenue growth during the period.
However, like-for-like revenues declined for some brands, including Legoland where difficulties relating to one particular park have had a negative impact on overall group performance.
Chief Executive Nick Varney commented that: “The cost environment remains challenging, with tighter labour markets in many parts of the world adding to the pressures resulting from legislative changes such as the National Living Wage in the UK. Our Productivity Agenda remains a key area of focus, and it is testament to our teams that, despite these cost pressures, we have continued to deliver excellent levels of guest satisfaction overall.
The underlying fundamentals of our markets are strong and we remain excited by the global opportunities that Merlin enjoys.”
Shares in Merlin Entertainments dropped by 7.36% to 342.50p (as of 12:00 BST).
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