Kings Island owner hits record revenues

Extra disposable income during a healthy economy is boosting sales in more than just the travel and retail industries, with the owner of Kings Island and Cedar Point hitting record revenues in August.

Cedar Fair Entertainment Company announced that the five-week period ending Monday reached record revenues for the amusement and water park company, according to a company release.

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The five-week revenue reached $288 million, up 6 percent from the same period in 2017. About 255,000 more people visited Cedar Fair’s 11 amusement parks, two outdoor water parks and one indoor water park during those five weeks of 2018 than 2017.

While spending within its parks was only up 1 percent, spending at Cedar Fair hotels and resort accommodations jumped $2 million, 7 percent.

"Over the past five weeks we have experienced strong growth across all aspects of our business, reaffirming our confidence in the resiliency of our business model and the outlook for growth in the business for the long term," said Richard Zimmerman, Cedar Fair's president and CEO.

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But the company’s year prior to that five-week period wasn’t as strong as expected, with year-to-date revenues only gaining slightly and 1 percent decrease in attendance.

“For the remainder of the year, we are focused on building upon the momentum we have established over the past five weeks,” Zimmerman said. “Our near-term strategy includes fully maximizing the potential of our very popular seasonal celebrations including Halloween Haunt, The Great Pumpkin Fest and WinterFest.”

The strong August results weren’t enough to entirely overcome the company’s challenges during the first seven months of 2018, Zimmerman said. The company forecasts full year revenues between $1.32 and $1.34 billion and earnings between $460 and $470 million.

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