Ardent Leisure shares have tumbled more than 15 per cent after the theme parks and gym operator posted a disappointing first half profit.
Weaker earnings from its Goodlife health clubs dragged net profit down 16 per cent to $18.8 million for the half year to December 31.
Investors pushed Ardent's shares down 44 cents, or 15.9 per cent, to $2.33 at the close of trade on Wednesday.
Part of Goodlife's problems stemmed from a trial of a new flexible membership plan, which resulted in more people leaving the gyms than joining.
Earnings dropped by more than 11 per cent.
To address softer sales, Ardent chief executive Greg Shaw announced a transition to 24-hour trading for Goodlife gyms in the second half.
"It will enable us to lower our operating costs, particularly during some of our peak trading periods which are weekends and public holidays," he said.
But analysts fear that the problems at Goodlife won't be easy to overcome.
"This could potentially be an ongoing problem," CMC Markets chief analyst Ric Spooner said.
"So investors appear to be taking a safety-first approach and will want to see some evidence of this situation stabilising."
Ardent's laser tag, tenpin bowling and indoor rock climbing US chain, Main Event, partially offset the slide in Goodlife's earnings.
The Texas-based division's earnings rose by 61.5 per cent, driven by five new centre openings and the positive impact of falling oil prices on discretionary spending.
"We've almost seen a direct correlation of traffic through the centres with the lowering of fuel prices," Mr Shaw said.
Main Event's constant centre revenue growth accelerated through January, up 17.7 per cent.
"We've seen those trends continue into February," he said.
Mr Shaw expects that momentum to stay, with traditionally strong holiday breaks and one further family entertainment centre opening in coming months.
"Main Event is very seasonally weighted towards the second half, so we do expect the Main Event contribution to grow about 30 per cent," he said.
Meanwhile, earnings from Ardent's Gold Coast theme parks Dreamworld and Whitewater World fell marginally during the first half, but have since recovered after a solid January.
Unaudited earnings for the peak January period were up 4.6 per cent, despite heavy rain.
Mr Shaw predicted a lower Australian dollar to encourage an increase in domestic as well as international tourism to the amusement parks.
"It's becoming more and more economic for Australians to holiday at home," he said.
UNHEALTHY SLIDE IN ARDENT'S PROFIT
* Net profit of $18.8m, down 16.3 pct from $22.5m
* Revenue of $285.9m, up 14.1 pct from $250.6m
* Interim dividend of seven cents, up from 6.8 cents.
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