SeaWorld Entertainment, showing no signs of a retreat from a rebound that began early last year, recorded a modest 1 percent gain in attendance during the second quarter, which includes the first part of its crucial summer season, the company reported Tuesday.

While growing at a slower rate than a year ago at this time, visitation was up by 100,000, bringing the total number of guests to 6.5 million during the quarter ending June 30. It also marks the sixth consecutive quarter of attendance gains by the Orlando-based theme park company.

Revenue growth during the quarter was even stronger, rising 3.6 percent to $406 million, although it fell short of Wall Street expectations.

SeaWorld, however, outperformed Wall Street forecasts in net income, which surged 132 percent to $52.7 million — a new record, said CEO Gus Antorcha. Earnings per share were 64 cents, up by 146 percent.


Attendance growth during the second quarter benefited in part from a slightly later Easter holiday and spring break, helping make up for poor weather at most of the company’s 12 parks, especially in June, SeaWorld said. The company also credited a strong lineup of new attractions, favorable pricing and continued marketing.

“As you know, we featured a new ride, attraction and/or event at almost all of our parks this year and guest reception has been positive,” Antorcha said in a statement. He noted, however, in a morning earnings call with analysts, that there is clear room for growth.

“As I’m building a team here and looking at ways to push growth, I see a lot of opportunity to go even further,” said Antorcha, who joined the company about six months ago. “We’re tweaking our pricing, promotions, creative media, but we don’t have everything running perfectly yet and we’re surely making mistakes. We’re learning as we go. But we’re not optimal yet.”

A year earlier, company attendance and revenue both rose by 5 percent, with 290,000 more guests visiting SeaWorld parks compared with the second quarter of 2017.


The continued turnaround has been fueled by a number of factors, key among them, the company’s renewed focus on thrill rides and a commitment to introduce more engaging attractions at a more frequent pace.

The San Diego park’s second coaster in two years debuted in May, and work is underway on a third coaster, Mako, billed as the park’s tallest roller coaster yet, at 153 feet high. Tidal Twister, the newest coaster, has been bedeviled by operational issues and currently is closed. Since opening to the public on May 24, it’s been shut down twice and has now been closed more days than it’s been open.

Also still closed is the park’s decades old Bayside Skyride, which has not reopened since February when a gust of wind caused it to abruptly stop mid-ride. A total of 16 people had to be rescued. Last week, the park started conducting some mechanical tests of the individual gondolas, but there is still no word on when the ride will resume operation.

Even as SeaWorld parks continue to open new rides on a regular basis, the San Diego and Orlando locations face heightened competition from Disney and Universal. Yet despite the much hyped opening in June of Disneyland’s blockbuster Star Wars attraction, the San Diego park has not really felt the effect, Antorcha said.


“In California, we haven’t seen a material impact since the opening of the Star Wars land,” Antorcha said. The bigger impact so far this year, he noted, has been colder, rainier weather in San Diego

“We’ve had a lot of weather in California. It’s been well documented how wet this year has been,” Antorcha said. “For Californians, it’s been colder, especially in Southern California, so that’s been an issue across multiple parks.”

Where SeaWorld continues to make notable advances is in how much people are spending once inside the theme parks. Thanks to continued discounting and promotional offers for single-day tickets and passes, revenue from admissions has been relatively flat — with only a 4-cent gain per person during the second quarter. However, in-park spending on such things as food, beverages and souvenirs, jumped 6.4 percent, from $25.90 per person to $27.57.

SeaWorld executives reiterated Tuesday that they continue to have a laser focus on cutting costs. As evidence, operating expenses for the quarter were down more than 10 percent. SeaWorld Chief Financial Officer Marc Swanson said the decline was related primarily to reduced labor costs. In April, the company announced it had initiated layoffs but unlike previous rounds of job cuts, SeaWorld would not say how many employees were let go.


Continued financial gains by SeaWorld Entertainment seem to indicate that the years-long backlash from the 2013 “Blackfish” anti-captivity documentary is finally subsiding, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, though, has more recently shifted its focus from killer whales to dolphins. It has been attacking the company for how it cares for its population of dolphins, particularly in the Dolphin Days shows where trainers ride atop the mammals.

SeaWorld stock, while up 26 percent since the start of the year, fell 1.3 percent to $28.86 a share at the close of trading Tuesday.