Increase in Theme-Park Revenue for Universal Parks and Resorts

The Comcast Corporation reported on Thursday that their “attendance increased year-over-year” in the first quarter in the theme parks and resorts division of the company. This was done without the boost of the Easter holiday crowds, which happened to fall in the second quarter rather than the first quarter this year. 

In total Comcast’s theme-park division had a 9 percent increase during the first quarter, and brought in $1.1 billion in revenue. Some of this can be credited to the increase in spending by guests, which was up per-person from last quarter.

An article from the Orlando Sentinel quotes Chief Executive Officer Brian Roberts saying, “We are off to a fantastic start – our fastest in five years. At theme parks, our multiyear momentum continues. A great example is the success of Harry Potter in Hollywood, where we saw a 60 percent increase in attendance this quarter.”

The “adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization” for the first-quarter by Universal Parks & Resorts “rose 6.1 percent to $397 million.” The high expense of Universal’s construction of Volcano Bay, and the cost of opening Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon offset some of the increased revenue.

Last week in Universal Studios Japan, the park opened a new Minions themed area. In February they announced that Comcast wants to “acquire the remaining 49 percent of that theme park.” CEO Brian Roberts stated that they made that decision because of the confidence they have in “the trajectory and leadership of the parks business under (Universal Parks & Resorts chairman) Tom Williams.”

Credit: Orlando Sentinel