16th Oct 2018 08:44
LONDON (Alliance News) - Merlin Entertainments PLC on Tuesday said organic revenue increased in the year-to-date, driven primarily by new business development.
Shares in Merlin, which owns a number of attractions including Legoland and Alton Towers, were down 7.8% at 340.70 pence on Tuesday.
As at October 6, Merlin's year-to-date organic revenue growth was 4.7% and like-for-like revenue growth stood at 1.4%.
The company opened four of its six new businesses in the last two months, meaning that new business development has been weighted towards the second half of the year.
These new developments helped to offset a 0.7% organic growth decline in Merlin's Midway Attractions, which include Madame Tussauds and the Blackpool Tower.
"We are excited by the recent launch of our two new Midway brands - the Bear Grylls Adventure in Birmingham, UK, and Peppa Pig World of Play in Shanghai. It is too early to comment on their commercial success, which as for all new brands could take time to build, but the attractions look fantastic and we are pleased with early guest feedback," said Merlin Chief Executive Nick Varney.
Resort Theme Parks was Merlin's best performing segment, with 9.0% organic growth and 8.3% like-for-like growth in the year to October 6.
Merlin's Legoland Parks Operating Group posted 6.4% organic revenue growth, primarily a result of Legoland Japan, which opened in April 2017, and helped offset a 0.3% drop in like-for-like revenue.
Trading thus far, Merlin said, has been in line with expectations and it expects to report 2018 results in line with market consensus. However, the company noted that there are still "a number of important trading weeks" over Christmas and Halloween which could influence this.
"The cost environment remains challenging, with tighter labour markets in many parts of the world adding to the pressures resulting from legislative changes such as the national living wage in the UK. Our productivity agenda remains a key area of focus, and it is testament to our teams that, despite these cost pressures, we have continued to deliver excellent levels of guest satisfaction overall," said Varney.
"The underlying fundamentals of our markets are strong and we remain excited by the global opportunities that Merlin enjoys," Varney added.
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