SeaWorld stock set to surge after profit more than doubles, to beat expectations for a decline
Shares of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. were indicated up nearly 4% in premarket trading Thursday, after the theme park operator reported a second-quarter profit that more than doubled, while expectations were for a decline, as attendance increased to well-above forecasts. Net income rose to $127.8 million, or $1.59 a share, from $52.7 million, or $64 cents a share, while the FactSet consensus was for a decline to 32 cents a share. Revenue grew 8.3% to $439.8 million, from $406.0 million, beating the FactSet consensus was for a decline to $344.9 million. Attendance increased by 5.5 million guests to 5.8 million guests, above the FactSet consensus of 5.1 million guests, with all parks now open, but with capacity limitations because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Admission per capita increased 16.5% to $41.87 and in-park per capita spending rose 11.6% to $33.84. "Our pricing and product strategies, along with the strong consumer demand environment, continued to drive higher realized pricing and strong guest spending resulting in record total revenue per capita in the quarter," said Chief Executive Marc Swanson. The stock has run up 38.7% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has advanced 17.2%.
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