FUN Q2 2022 Earnings

Call Details

• Call Title: Six Flags Entertainment Q2 2022 Earnings Call
• Date: August 3, 2022 at 2:00 PM UTC
• Management Team:
  • Michael Russell (Corporate Director of Investor Relations)
  • Richard Zimmerman (Chief Executive Officer)
  • Brian Witherow (Chief Financial Officer)

Call Summary

Financial Performance

• Net revenues in Q2 totaled $509 million, representing a 17% increase versus the second quarter of 2019 and a $73 million increase versus that period.
• Attendance for Q2 was 7.8 million guests, and attendance per operating day at legacy parks was approximately 12,100 guests, up 3% versus the comparable period in 2019.
• In-park per capita spending in Q2 was $59.52 compared to $47.22 in Q2 2019, driven by a 26% increase in in-park per capita and higher transaction counts and values.
• Admissions per capita increased to $32.27 in Q2, up 20% from the second quarter of 2019, while combined food, beverage, merchandising, games and extras increased to $27.25, up 35% from 2019.
• Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $171 million, representing an increase of $7 million, or 5%, compared with Q2 2019.
• Operating costs and expenses in Q2 were $347 million, up $70 million from Q2 2019, comprised of a $9 million increase in COGS, a $55 million increase in operating expenses, and a $6 million increase in SG&A.

Guidance

• The company did not provide formal revenue or EPS guidance for FY2022 on the call, and specific forward quarter forecasts were not disclosed.
• The company stated it expects to be on pace to finish the year with net leverage well inside four times adjusted EBITDA and approaching pre-pandemic levels, with an explicit net debt target of $2 billion.
• Full-year core capital expenditures are expected to be $160 to $175 million with an additional $40 million allocated to resort renovations, implying total 2022 investment roughly in line with a $200 million program.
• The proceeds from the Santa Clara real estate sale closed after quarter-end and were not included in Q2 balance sheet or liquidity figures disclosed on the call.
• No quantitative guidance was given for attendance, per-cap trajectory, or group-channel recovery timing beyond qualitative pacing commentary.
• Management committed to providing additional updates after Labor Day and will release a 2023 Capital Investment Program next week.