Cedar Fair reports Q3 EPS $4.21, consensus $3.79

Reports Q3 revenue $842M, consensus $836.07M. “The strength and resiliency of our business model was on full display during our peak attendance and revenue months, as we delivered another strong performance and positioned Cedar Fair for a great finish to 2023,” said Cedar Fair President and CEO Richard A. Zimmerman. “Our rapid recovery during the third quarter, combined with our meaningful cost-saving measures, helped offset attendance and revenue shortfalls experienced earlier in the year and put us back on track to deliver another very strong performance in 2023. The strong demand trends we’ve seen so far in the second half of the year, including in the month of October, give us confidence in our ability to carry our success into 2024.” “Our efforts to drive more demand with increased advertising and a reassessment of our pricing strategy in several key markets resonated well with consumers, and our popular fall events are once again producing some of our biggest attendance days of the year,” added Zimmerman. “In addition to stimulating attendance levels and topline revenue, our team has been optimizing our cost structure to improve margins. By actively managing our variable operating costs to better align with attendance levels and reassessing our overhead needs, we reduced operating costs in the third quarter resulting in a 300-basis-point improvement in Adjusted EBITDA margin over the third quarter last year. I am grateful for our team’s perseverance through such a challenging season.” Zimmerman continued, “Today we also announced that we have entered into a definitive agreement to merge with Six Flags to create a leading amusement park operator in North America with the largest portfolio of best-in-class parks and brands. With Six Flags, we will expand our footprint, enhance the resilience of our business model, and bolster our financial profile to drive in-park investments. This transaction will allow us to build on our strategy to transform our park operations and deliver the most entertaining experiences to guests.”