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With new Quarterly Earnings Reports from Disney, SeaWorld, and Merlin all within the last few weeks. Ken looks at the numbers and the news surrounding each company. He touches on the Merlin Busch Gardens rumors, talks about the below estimate revenue coming out of Disney, and all the no good, very bad news coming out of SeaWorld.

Kevin Yee talks about The Great Movie and Universe of Energy and Ken shares his thoughts on hotel security. Plus a gruesome double murder at a resort shocks a small Florida community that hasn’t seen a single murder in nearly two decades.

Hosts

• Ken Storey
• Robert
• Ed
• Andy of Theme Parks and Travels
• Jake of Orlando Park Pass
• Hotel Correspondent – Kyle
• Show Researcher – Jay
• Food Reporter- Kevin Brewer
• Vlog Correspondent- Kevin Fox
• Show Historian – Kevin Yee

Recording Date- August 11, 2017, on WPRK 91.5 Winter Park (10AM-Noon)

Show Notes

DIS (The Walt Disney Company)

• Revenue below estimates: $14.24 billion vs. the expected $14.42 billion, according to Thomson Reuters
• Earnings Per Share above estimates: $1.58 vs. the expected $1.55
• Operating Income
• Media and networks: $1.84 billion vs. $1.99 billion expected, 22% decline YoY due to ESPN issues
  Parks and resorts: $1.17 billion vs. $1.09 billion expected (18 percent year-over-year growth)
  Studio: $639 million vs. $636.6 million expected
  Consumer and interactive: $362 million vs. $394.6 million expected
• “Operating income growth for the quarter reflected an increase at our international operations, while results at our domestic operations were comparable to the prior-year quarter. Segment results benefitted from the timing of the Easter holiday, which fell in the third quarter of the current year compared to the second quarter of the prior year.”
• Disney point to “to labor and other cost inflation, increased operations support costs, new guest offerings and the dry-dock of the Disney Fantasy in the current quarter” for their higher output. This was offset by increased guest spending related to “increases in average ticket prices for sailings on our cruise ships and admission to our theme parks, as well a higher daily average hotel room rates and food and beverage spending”.

SEAS (SeaWorld Parks and Resorts)

• 353,000 fewer visitors in the first half of 2017
• $373.8 million in revenue vs. expected $394 million
• Net loss of $237.0 million for the first half of 2017 includes a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $269.3 million.
  The company expects to achieve targeted $40 million in net cost savings by the end of 2018, is identifying additional areas for cost reduction.
• Net loss of $175.9 million for the second quarter as admission revenue fell 6%
• Annual passholders increased by 15 percent
• March ‘17 – Total Debt of $1.61 B
• Joel Manby speaks to Tampa Bay Times

MIINF (Merlin Entertainment)

• visitors increase by 6.2 percent to 29.7 million
• revenue up 19.4 percent to $893 million (£685 million).
• Pre-tax profit unchanged at $65 million (£50 million).
• London attractions saw domestic visitation “immediately and significantly reduced” following attacks but “cautious on international visitation over the key summer trading period given the lag between international bookings and visitation.”
• Merlin chief financial officer Anne-Francoise Nesmes regarding Busch Gardens buy – “It takes two parties to do a deal so we do not know what SeaWorld’s intentions are but we do believe that those assets are interesting and we could certainly do a lot with them particularly around accommodation, so to us it’s about having the right discussion with a willing partner and making sure we have the right financial return.”

• Six Points include grow current attractions, make them destination resorts, synergize, new midway and Legoland attractions, and acquire.

(Could we see a Six Flags/Merlin bidding war?)

Other comments for the show-

Double murder at Zota Beach Resort in Longboat Key

Goodbye to GMR and UoE

New batch of CPers in town, is this the most vlog friendly batch yet?