Heard On... Cedar Fair's 2nd Quarter 2020 Earnings Call

Cedar Fair had their 2nd quarter 2020 earnings release and subsequent call last week, just after Six Flags Entertainment released theirs.  As was found in Six Flags' numbers, things weren't especially great for Cedar Fair - all of which is expected in these troubled times.  Here are some of our notes from the call:

• 2nd Quarter results include only Worlds of Fun and the two Schlitterbahn parks in Texas.  Net revenues were $7 million, which comes from a decrease in attendance of 8 million and a $44 million decrease in out of park revenues.  The operating loss for the quarter was $142 million, and the EBITDA loss was $85 million.

• With regard to liquidity, Cedar Fair is using about $30-$40 million per month through the end of 2020.  They also reaffirmed that they have enough liquidity to last until the end of 2021 even if all parks are forced to close until then.

© Kings Island

• The company is trying to keep its brand reputation strong by staying engaged with visitors and employees, using this season to base future investment decisions, operating strategies and park programming in the future, revising marketing to be as efficient as possible, using scalable technology based initiatives to improve safety, maintaining a disciplined approach to cash use and investing in new capabilities to capitalize on changes in consumer behavior and preferences.

• Overall season pass sales for the year are down more than 30% or 900,000 passes.

• For the rest of the season that the parks are open the company expects them to have 20% - 25% of historical attendance (which translates to 15% of theoretical capacity).  On some good days some of the bigger parks have seen attendance hit closer to 40% of historical attendance.  These rates have been affected by COVID-19 case spikes in markets.  The 7 parks that have been able to open so far this year represent 40% of historical attendance and revenues.

• The company has proceeded to "defer or eliminate" 2020 capital expenditures as they move into 2021.  They reduced 2020 capital expansion by $75 to $100 million.  While the call did not say this, I think a big part of that was cancelling many special limit time entertainment events and festivals.

• Regarding 2021 capital expenditures, the company is "reactivating certain capital projects to ensure the properties that should be fully operational for the 2021 season are prepared and ready to maximize revenue opportunities."  They promise to provide more visibility into those plans and their outlook on the 2021 capital program later in the year.  This sounds encouraging.  They also mention that they still believe strongly in experience based additions, like Grand Carnivale and other similar attractions that will help differentiate the parks from the competition.

© Canada's Wonderland

• There is still a chance that we could see Winterfest celebrations this year, but if so they will be at Knott's Berry Farm and Canada's Wonderland... if those parks are able to open.  Those are the two most profitable parks during winter so if they are able to open it sounds like Cedar Fair might jump at the chance to operate this winter.

• Operators are dedicated to keeping parks that couldn't open this year in the minds of visitors, including the use of social media and getting feedback on a variety of topics.  They want to continue to grow the consumer loyalty while they can't open.