GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas,
April 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/
-- Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: SIX), the
world's largest regional theme park company, today announced that
revenue for the first three months of the year was $74 million as compared to $88 million for the same period in 2013. The
decline was primarily related to an attendance shift due to the
2014 Easter holiday falling in April, which caused many schools to
schedule spring-break vacations in the second quarter versus the
first quarter 2013. Adjusted EBITDA1 for the first
quarter was a loss of $43 million as
compared to a loss of $38 million for
the first quarter 2013.
"The increase in guest spending per capita, along with a 25
percent increase in our Active Pass Base, which is
comprised of guests in our membership plan and season pass
holders, positions Six Flags to deliver another year of solid
growth," said Jim Reid-Anderson,
Chairman, President and CEO.
Total guest spending per capita for the first quarter increased
7 percent over the first quarter 2013 to $43.86 with admissions per capita increasing 10
percent or $2.21 to $25.01 and in-park spending per capita increasing
5 percent or $0.82 to $18.85. Attendance in the first quarter was 1.4
million guests.
The loss per share for the first quarter was $0.64, compared to a loss per share of
$0.61 in 2013.
In the first quarter of 2014, the company invested $42 million in new capital, paid $45 million in dividends, or $0.47 per common share, and repurchased
$5 million of its common stock. Net
Debt2 as of March 31, 2014
was $1,377 million, which translates
to a 3.4 times net leverage ratio.
Earlier this month the company announced a new strategic
partnership to build a Six Flags-branded theme park outside of
North America. "This is an
important component of our long-term growth strategy and the first
step in expanding the Six Flags brand internationally," noted
Reid-Anderson. "Given this initiative and the significant potential
to enter additional markets, we have realigned our senior
leadership team to support our international expansion."
The company has appointed John
Odum as Senior Vice President, International Park Operations
and Thomas Iven as Senior Vice
President, U.S. Park Operations. Previously, Odum and Iven split
responsibility for the company's North America Park Operations.
As previously announced, this spring the company is introducing
several world-record-breaking rides, including: Zumanjaro at Six
Flags Great Adventure—the world's tallest drop ride;
New England SkyScreamer at Six Flags New England—the
world's tallest swing ride; Goliath at Six Flags Great
America—the world's fastest wooden coaster with the
tallest and steepest drop; and Medusa at Six Flags
Mexico—a hybrid coaster with four over-banked turns
and a world-record three inversions. The company is also building a
massive, brand-new water park inside Six Flags Over Georgia, and
introducing new attractions at each of its other theme and water
parks.
The company announced in April that it has been named to the
2014 InformationWeek Elite 100—a list of the top business
technology innovators in the United
States.
Conference Call
The company will host a conference
call at 8:00 a.m. Central Time today
to discuss its first quarter 2014 financial performance. The call
is accessible either through the Six Flags Investor Relations
website at www.sixflags.com/investors or by dialing 1-855-889-1976
in the United States or
+1-937-641-0558 outside the United
States and requesting the Six Flags earnings call. A replay
of the call will be available by dialing 1-855-859-2056 or
+1-404-537-3406, Conference ID 16284851 through April 30, 2014.
About Six Flags Entertainment Corporation
Six Flags
Entertainment Corporation is the world's largest regional theme
park company with $1.1 billion in
revenue and 18 parks across the United
States, Mexico and
Canada. For 53 years, Six Flags
has entertained millions of families with world-class coasters,
themed rides, thrilling water parks and unique attractions
including up-close animal encounters, Fright Fest® and
Holiday in the Park®. For more information, visit
www.sixflags.com.
Forward Looking Statements
The information contained
in this release, other than historical information, consists of
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act.
These statements may involve risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those described in
such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among
others, (i) the adequacy of cash flows from operations, available
cash and available amounts under our credit facilities to meet our
future liquidity needs, (ii) our ability to roll out our capital
enhancements in a timely and cost effective manner, (iii) our
ability to improve operating results by implementing strategic cost
reductions, and organizational and personnel changes without
adversely affecting our business, (iv) our operations and results
of operations, and (v) the risk factors or uncertainties listed
from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission ("SEC"). In addition, important factors,
including factors impacting attendance, local conditions,
contagious diseases, events, disturbances and terrorist activities,
recall of food, toys and other retail products which we sell, risk
of accidents occurring at the company's parks or other parks in the
industry and adverse publicity concerning our parks, inability to
achieve desired improvements and financial performance targets set
forth in our aspirational goals, adverse weather conditions such as
excess heat or cold, rain and storms, general financial and credit
market conditions, economic conditions (including customer spending
patterns), changes in public and consumer tastes, construction
delays in capital improvements or ride downtime, competition with
other theme parks and other entertainment alternatives, dependence
on a seasonal workforce, unionization activities and labor
disputes, laws and regulations affecting labor and employee benefit
costs, including potential increases in state and federally
mandated minimum wages, and healthcare reform, pending, threatened
or future legal proceedings and the significant expenses associated
with litigation, cyber security risks and other factors could cause
actual results to differ materially from the company's
expectations. Although the company believes that the expectations
reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can
give no assurance that such expectations will be realized and
actual results could vary materially. Reference is made to a more
complete discussion of forward-looking statements and applicable
risks contained under the captions "Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the company's
Annual and Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, and its other
filings and submissions with the SEC, each of which are available
free of charge on the company's investor relations website at
www.sixflags.com/investors and on the SEC's website at
www.sec.gov.
Footnotes
(1) See the following financial
statements and Note 3 to those financial statements for a
discussion of Adjusted EBITDA and its reconciliation to net income
(loss).
(2) Net Debt represents total long-term debt, including
current portion, less cash and cash equivalents.
SIX FLAGS
ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Statement of
Operations Data (1)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months
Ended
|
(Amounts in
thousands, except per share data)
|
March 31,
2014
|
|
March 31,
2013
|
Theme park
admissions
|
$
|
34,710
|
|
$
|
41,532
|
Theme park food,
merchandise and other
|
25,967
|
|
32,832
|
Sponsorship,
licensing and other fees
|
8,178
|
|
7,893
|
Accommodations
revenue
|
4,863
|
|
5,264
|
Total
revenue
|
73,718
|
|
87,521
|
Operating expenses
(excluding depreciation and amortization shown separately
below)
|
81,628
|
|
84,219
|
Selling, general and
administrative expense (excluding depreciation, amortization and
stock-based compensation shown separately below)
|
28,975
|
|
32,601
|
Costs of products
sold
|
6,243
|
|
7,925
|
Depreciation
|
27,029
|
|
31,547
|
Amortization
|
665
|
|
3,599
|
Stock-based
compensation
|
5,359
|
|
7,097
|
Loss on disposal of
assets
|
1,792
|
|
1,070
|
Interest expense,
net
|
18,029
|
|
18,397
|
Other income,
net
|
(190)
|
|
(422)
|
Loss before income
taxes
|
(95,812)
|
|
(98,512)
|
Income tax
benefit
|
(34,611)
|
|
(36,399)
|
Net loss
|
(61,201)
|
|
(62,113)
|
Less: Net income
attributable to noncontrolling interests
|
—
|
|
(414)
|
Net loss attributable
to Six Flags Entertainment Corporation
|
$
|
(61,201)
|
|
$
|
(62,527)
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss per average
common share outstanding — basic and diluted
|
$
|
(0.64)
|
|
$
|
(0.61)
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted-average
number of common shares outstanding — basic and diluted
|
94,958
|
|
101,928
|
SIX FLAGS
ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION
|
|
The following table
sets forth a reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted EBITDA and Free
Cash Flow for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and March 31,
2013:
|
|
|
|
Three Months
Ended
|
(Amounts in
thousands)
|
March 31,
2014
|
|
March 31,
2013
|
Net loss
|
$
|
(61,201)
|
|
$
|
(62,113)
|
Income tax
benefit
|
(34,611)
|
|
(36,399)
|
Other income,
net
|
(190)
|
|
(422)
|
Interest expense,
net
|
18,029
|
|
18,397
|
Loss on disposal of
assets
|
1,792
|
|
1,070
|
Amortization
|
665
|
|
3,599
|
Depreciation
|
27,029
|
|
31,547
|
Stock-based
compensation
|
5,359
|
|
7,097
|
Impact of Fresh Start
valuation adjustments (2)
|
92
|
|
145
|
Modified EBITDA
(3)
|
(43,036)
|
|
(37,079)
|
Third party interest
in EBITDA of certain operations (4)
|
—
|
|
(1,026)
|
Adjusted EBITDA
(3)
|
(43,036)
|
|
(38,105)
|
Cash paid for
interest, net
|
(27,095)
|
|
(6,499)
|
Capital expenditures,
net of property insurance recoveries in 2014
|
(42,120)
|
|
(36,600)
|
Cash taxes
(5)
|
(4,430)
|
|
(5,408)
|
Free Cash Flow
(6)
|
$
|
(116,681)
|
|
$
|
(86,612)
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted-average
number of common shares outstanding — basic
|
94,958
|
|
101,928
|
|
|
|
|
Cash Loss Per
Share
|
$
|
(1.23)
|
|
$
|
(0.85)
|
SIX FLAGS
ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION
|
|
The following table
sets forth a reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBITDA and
Free Cash Flow for the twelve months ended March 31, 2014 and March
31, 2013:
|
|
|
|
Last Twelve Months
Ended
|
(Amounts in
thousands)
|
March 31,
2014
|
|
March 31,
2013
|
Net income
|
$
|
157,785
|
|
$
|
455,969
|
Income from
discontinued operations
|
(549)
|
|
(7,308)
|
Income tax expense
(benefit)
|
49,389
|
|
(216,797)
|
Restructure
recovery
|
—
|
|
(47)
|
Reorganization items,
net
|
—
|
|
1,434
|
Other expense,
net
|
1,286
|
|
1,151
|
Loss on debt
extinguishment
|
789
|
|
587
|
Equity in loss of
investee
|
—
|
|
1,902
|
Interest expense,
net
|
73,777
|
|
53,658
|
Loss on disposal of
assets
|
9,301
|
|
7,532
|
Gain on sale of
investee
|
—
|
|
(67,319)
|
Amortization
|
11,459
|
|
14,745
|
Depreciation
|
109,164
|
|
126,951
|
Stock-based
compensation
|
25,296
|
|
52,963
|
Impact of Fresh Start
valuation adjustments (2)
|
541
|
|
896
|
Modified EBITDA
(3)
|
438,238
|
|
426,317
|
Third party interest
in EBITDA of certain operations (4)
|
(39,057)
|
|
(36,159)
|
Adjusted EBITDA
(3)
|
399,181
|
|
390,158
|
Cash paid for
interest, net
|
(71,945)
|
|
(42,388)
|
Capital expenditures,
net of property insurance recoveries in 2014
|
(107,373)
|
|
(99,284)
|
Cash taxes
(5)
|
(12,790)
|
|
(10,210)
|
Free Cash Flow
(6)
|
$
|
207,073
|
|
$
|
238,276
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted-average
number of common shares outstanding — basic
|
95,217
|
|
105,892
|
|
|
|
|
Cash Earnings Per
Share
|
$
|
2.17
|
|
$
|
2.25
|
SIX FLAGS
ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION
|
|
Balance Sheet Data
(1)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As
of
|
(Amounts in
thousands)
|
March 31,
2014
|
|
December 31,
2013
|
Cash and cash
equivalents (excluding restricted cash)
|
$
|
22,385
|
|
$
|
169,310
|
Total
assets
|
2,535,661
|
|
2,607,814
|
|
|
|
|
Deferred
income
|
85,125
|
|
60,443
|
Current portion of
long-term debt
|
6,277
|
|
6,269
|
Long-term debt
(excluding current portion)
|
1,393,047
|
|
1,394,334
|
|
|
|
|
Redeemable
noncontrolling interests
|
437,569
|
|
437,569
|
|
|
|
|
Total
equity
|
273,168
|
|
373,337
|
|
|
|
|
Shares
outstanding
|
95,114
|
|
94,857
|
|
|
|
|
(1)
|
Revenues and expenses
of international operations are converted into U.S. dollars on an
average basis as provided by GAAP. Amounts have been recast to
reflect the June 2013 stock split and reflect corrected valuation
allowance amounts.
|
|
|
(2)
|
Amounts recorded as
valuation adjustments and included in reorganization items for the
month of April 2010 that would have been included in Modified
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, had fresh start accounting not been
applied. Balance consists primarily of discounted insurance
reserves that will be accreted through the statement of operations
each quarter through 2018.
|
|
|
(3)
|
"Modified EBITDA", a
non-GAAP measure, is defined as the Company's consolidated income
(loss) from continuing operations: excluding the cumulative effect
of changes in accounting principles, discontinued operations gains
or losses, income tax expense or benefit, restructure costs or
recoveries, reorganization items (net), other income or expense,
gain or loss on early extinguishment of debt, equity in income or
loss of investees, interest expense (net), gain or loss on disposal
of assets, gain or loss on the sale of investees, amortization,
depreciation, stock-based compensation, and fresh start accounting
valuation adjustments. The Company believes that Modified EBITDA is
useful to investors, equity analysts and rating agencies as a
measure of the Company's performance. The Company believes that
Modified EBITDA is a measure that can be readily compared to other
companies, and the Company uses Modified EBITDA in its internal
evaluation of operating effectiveness and decisions regarding the
allocation of resources. Modified EBITDA is not defined by GAAP and
should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to net
income (loss), income (loss) from continuing operations, net cash
provided by (used in) operating, investing and financing activities
or other financial data prepared in accordance with GAAP or as an
indicator of the Company's operating performance. Modified EBITDA
as defined herein may differ from similarly titled measures
presented by other companies.
"Adjusted EBITDA", a non-GAAP measure, is defined as Modified
EBITDA minus the interests of third parties in the Adjusted EBITDA
of properties that are less than wholly owned (consisting of Six
Flags Over Georgia, Six Flags White Water Atlanta, Six Flags Over
Texas, and Six Flags Great Escape Lodge & Indoor Waterpark (the
"Lodge") of which the Company purchased the noncontrolling
interests from its partners in the Lodge in 2013) plus the
Company's interest in the Adjusted EBITDA of dick clark
productions, inc., which was sold in September 2012. The Company
believes that Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to
investors regarding the Company's operating performance and its
capacity to incur and service debt and fund capital expenditures.
Adjusted EBITDA is approximately equal to "Parent Consolidated
Adjusted EBITDA" as defined in the Company's secured credit
agreement, except that Parent Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA excludes
Adjusted EBITDA from equity investees that is not distributed to
the Company in cash on a net basis and has limitations on the
amounts of certain expenses that are excluded from the calculation.
Adjusted EBITDA is not defined by GAAP and should not be considered
in isolation or as an alternative to net income (loss), income
(loss) from continuing operations, net cash provided by (used in)
operating, investing and financing activities or other financial
data prepared in accordance with GAAP or as an indicator of the
Company's operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA as defined herein
may differ from similarly titled measures presented by other
companies.
|
|
|
(4)
|
Represents interests
of third parties in the Adjusted EBITDA of Six Flags Over Georgia,
Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags White Water Atlanta and the Lodge,
plus the Company's interest in the Adjusted EBITDA of dick clark
productions, inc., which are less than wholly owned. The Company
purchased the noncontrolling interests from its partners in the
Lodge in 2013 and sold its interest in dick clark productions, inc.
in September 2012.
|
|
|
(5)
|
Based on our current
federal net operating loss carryforwards, we believe we will
continue to pay minimal amounts for cash taxes for the next three
to four years. Cash taxes paid represents statutory taxes paid,
primarily in Mexico.
|
|
|
(6)
|
Free Cash Flow, a
non-GAAP measure, is defined as Adjusted EBITDA less (i) cash paid
for interest expense net of interest income receipts, (ii) capital
expenditures net of property insurance recoveries, and (iii) cash
taxes. The Company has excluded from the definition of Free Cash
Flow deferred financing costs related to the Company's debt due to
the unusual nature of these items. The Company believes that Free
Cash Flow is useful to investors, equity analysts and rating
agencies as a performance measure. The Company uses Free Cash Flow
in its internal evaluation of operating effectiveness and decisions
regarding the allocation of resources. Free Cash Flow is not
defined by GAAP and should not be considered in isolation or as an
alternative to net income (loss), income (loss) from continuing
operations, net cash provided by (used in) operating, investing and
financing activities or other financial data prepared in accordance
with GAAP or as an indicator of the Company's operating
performance. Free Cash Flow as defined herein may differ from
similarly titled measures presented by other companies.
|
SOURCE Six Flags Entertainment Corporation