SeaWorld rebounds from its struggles to report better attendance and revenue in third quarter

The financial comeback of SeaWorld Entertainment (NYSE:SEAS) is gaining traction as the marine-life theme-park operator reported an expected 10% jump in its attendance for the third quarter.

The quarterly results, which are preliminary and have yet to be approved, were posted on Monday as part of a requirement stemming from a potential debt refinancing transaction.

For the three months ended September 30, SeaWorld, which operates 12 marine parks, saw its total attendance increase from the year-ago quarter by about 700,000 guests, or 10%.

Its total revenue is set to increase by about $41 million in the third quarter, up 9% from the same period last year.

Thus far, for the first nine months of the year, 1.4 million more guests have visited the parks and revenues are up by $90 million or 9% compared to last year.

In recent years, SeaWorld has faced a slowdown in attendance and difficulty with its finances in the wake of the release of a critical documentary film “Blackfish”, which took aim at the park’s treatment of its orcas or killer whales.

Read: SeaWorld and its ex-CEO pay more than US$5mln to settle US probe into fraud charges

Last month, SeaWorld and its former CEO James Atchison agreed to pay more than $5mln to settle a federal investigation into fraud charges.

Regulators accused SeaWorld and Atchison of misleading investors about the impact the film “Blackfish” had on the company’s reputation. SeaWorld and Atchison made untrue and misleading statements or omissions in SEC filings, earnings releases and calls and other statements to the press about Blackfish’s impact on SeaWorld’s business, according to the SEC’s complaint.

And it wasn’t until August of 2014 that SeaWorld at last acknowledged that its declining attendance was partially caused by negative publicity stemming from the airing of Blackfish. Following the revelation, SeaWorld’s stock price fell, causing shareholders’ losses to balloon.

Without admitting or denying the allegations, SeaWorld and Atchison settled with the SEC, with SeaWorld paying a $4 million penalty and Atchison paying over $1 million in penalties.

SeaWorld shares closed down slightly to finish Monday’s trading session at $30.

Story by ProactiveInvestors