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SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. announced a new cost-cutting initiative amid increased expenses and a decline in attendance.

SeaWorld said Tuesday that third quarter attendance fell 0.4% to 8.3 million due to adverse weather in the North East, including from Hurricane Hermine, which swept through Florida and up the East Coast starting in late August. The company also said that its Florida locations continue to be hurt by fewer guests coming to its parks from Latin America, where a number of countries are battling economic troubles. Latin American attendance is down 28% from the third quarter last year but the problems are starting to abate.

Shares of the company fell 3.9% to $13.69 in premarket trading as the company also cut the high-end of its profit forecast.

It now expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, a profit measure, to be between $310 million and $330 million, cutting $10 million off the top-end of its already cut forecast.

The company launched a new cost-cutting plan that aims to reduce costs by about $65 million, with targeted $40 million in net savings by the end of 2018.

Chief Executive Joel Manby said the company was "using our capital more efficiently, introducing more new attractions with fewer dollars."

For the quarter, SeaWorld reported a profit of $65.7 million, or 77 cents a share, down from a year-earlier profit of $98 million, or $1.14 a share.

Revenue fell 2.3% to $485.3 million. Analysts had projected a profit of $1.08 a share on $483.52 million in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters.

The second and third quarters typically account for nearly two-thirds of SeaWorld's annual revenue.

In the quarter, operating expenses increased 0.9% as selling, general and administrative costs increased 20%.

The results come after SeaWorld said in March it would abandon breeding its signature killer whales in a bid to reshape its image, a dramatic shift as heavy public scrutiny in recent years pressured attendance. Still, the shift won't happen quickly—the company has nearly 30 killer whales, one of which is pregnant, and SeaWorld says they typically live up to 50 years.

In September, SeaWorld unveiled p lans for cause-based entertainment and a new virtual-reality ride as it seeks to move on from its highly scrutinized theatrical shows featuring killer whales.

In addition to operating it namesake parks in California, Texas and Florida, the company's portfolio includes Busch Gardens, Sesame Place and the "Sea Rescue" television show.

Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 08, 2016 10:15 ET (15:15 GMT)

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