AusLeisure

Village Roadshow has reported a 9.4% drop in visits to its Gold Coast theme parks for the nine months to 31st March – impacted by poor weather and effect of last October's fatal accident at rival Ardent Leisure's Dreamworld attraction.

In its latest financial report, the entertainment group advised that membership renewals at its theme parks had also declined, and that its Wet'n'Wild Sydney waterpark was expected to perform even less well in the second half than during its first half in which it lost $1.9 million before tax.

The company now expects earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation from its theme park division of between $55 million and $65 million, down from $88 million in 2015/16.

in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, Village Roadshow advised "VRL firmly believes that the theme parks division will return to normal levels over time following key marketing campaigns and the introduction of new attractions.”

Village Roadshow Theme Parks (VRTP) will have a new Chief Executive and Executive Chairman, Clark Kirby, in place as of 1st May.

Kirby is currently Chief Operating Officer of Village Roadshow Limited, VRTP's parent company and has served in a number of roles senior management in the group since joining in 2009. Village Roadshow has also experienced at its film distribution unit, announcing in February that the unit's first-half EBITDA had fallen 27% following the underperformance of independently acquired titles Deepwater Horizon and Red Dog: True Blue.

With AAP

Images: Wet'n'Wild Sydney (top) and VRTP's new rollercoaster under construction at Warner Bros. Movie World (below).

16th April 2017 - CONSULTING ENGINEER REBUTS AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S WEEKLY RIDE SAFETY ‘INVESTIGATION’ 

7th April 2017 - VILLAGE ROADSHOW CHANGES SEE CLARK KIRBY APPOINTED THEME PARKS DIVISION CHIEF EXECUTIVE

14th March 2017 - VILLAGE ROADSHOW THEME PARKS HIGHLIGHTS SAFETY AND MAINTENANCE SYSTEMS 

22nd February 2017 - VILLAGE ROADSHOW THEME PARKS EXPERIENCE SUMMER TRADING DECLINE 

6th February 2017 - WET’N'WILD GOLD COAST LAUNCHES ALL TERRAIN DRIVING ADVENTURE

17th December 2016 - SAFETY INSPECTIONS COMPLETE AT VILLAGE ROADSHOW THEME PARKS 

20th November 2016 - GOLD COAST THEME PARKS HIT BY SAFETY FEARS

19th November 2016 - MOVIE WORLD AND SEA WORLD WIN IAAPA ‘BRASS RING’ MERCHANDISE AWARDS 

18th October 2016 - WET’N'WILD SYDNEY TO INSTALL ACCESSO’S QUEUING SOLUTION TECHNOLOGY

15th September 2016 - THEME PARKS AND CINEMAS PERFORM BUT VILLAGE ROADSHOW PROFITS DIP

3rd June 2016 - WARNER BROS. MOVIE WORLD CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF MOVIE MAGIC

12th November 2015 - WET’N’WILD’S FIRST CHINESE WATERPARK TO OPEN BEFORE THE END OF 2016 

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