Theme park owner lowers profit forecast

Village Roadshow shares have plunged after the theme parks operator warned of ongoing challenges at its Gold Coast parks.

A supplied image of the DC Rivals HyperCoaster at Movie World.

Village Roadshow's shares have plunged following ongoing challenges at its Gold Coast theme parks. (AAP)

Shares in Village Roadshow have plunged to a six year low after the beleaguered theme park operator downgraded its earnings forecast as visitors stay away from its drawcard Gold Coast theme parks.

Village Roadshow's already weak visitor numbers were compounded by a wet March and competition from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, the company said in a third quarter update.

It warned investors that its full-year net profit will be lower than the downwardly revised figures it gave in January of $12 million to $17 million.

It expects its full year result to be somewhere between break even and a $10 million loss.

Theme parks on the Gold Coast are yet to recover from the impact of the fatal accident at rival Ardent Leisure's Dreamworld in 2016, while Village Roadshow's cinema division has also faced challenges from weak 2018 attendances.

Village Roadshow is banking on a string of last quarter blockbusters to shore up its numbers, including Avengers: Infinity War, Solo: A Star Wars Story and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

The company's shares dropped 48 cents, or 15.2 per cent, to $2.67, a fall that wiped almost $78 million from its market value.


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world