This conference call transcript was computer generated and almost certianly contains errors. This transcript is provided for information purposes only.EarningsCall, LLC makes no representation about the accuracy of the aforementioned transcript, and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the information provided by the transcript.
5/4/2022
Good morning. My name is David and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I'd like to welcome everyone to the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company 2022 first quarter earnings call. Today's conference is being recorded. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there'll be a question and answer session. If you'd like to ask a question during this time, simply press the star key followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you'd like to withdraw your question, press star one once again. I'll now turn the call over to management. Please begin.
Thank you, David. And good morning, everyone. My name is Michael Russell, Corporate Director of Investor Relations for Cedar Fair. Welcome to today's earnings call to review our first quarter results ended March 27th, 2022. Earlier this morning, we distributed via wire service our earnings press release, a copy of which is available under the news tab of our investors website. at ir.cedarfair.com. On the call with me this morning are Richard Zimmerman, Cedar Fair President and CEO, and Brian Witherow, our Executive Vice President and CFO. Before we begin, I need to remind you that comments made during this call will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those described in such statements. For a more detailed discussion of these risks, you may refer to the company's filings with the SEC. In compliance with the SEC's Regulation FD, this webcast is being made available to the media and the general public, as well as analysts and investors. Because the webcast is open to all constituents and prior notification has been widely and unselectively disseminated, all content on this call will be considered fully disclosed. With that, I would like to introduce our CEO, Richard Zimmerman. Richard?
Thank you, Michael, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us for today's call. Our prepared remarks this morning will be focused on the following three areas. First, I'll provide an overview of our operating results and early season performance trends through May 1st. Second, Brian will review our quarterly financial results in more detail and provide additional color on drivers of our revenue growth and the steps we are taking to manage operating costs and expenses and expand our margins. Finally, with the remainder of our parks opening over the next few weeks, I will close with a summary of our outlook for the 2022 season. Let me say at the outset, we are very pleased with our strong early season performance, which included establishing a new record high for first quarter revenues. We are also encouraged by the strong trends in our key long lead indicators. such as resort bookings, season pass sales, advanced sales of other all-season products, and tournament bookings at the Cedar Point Sports Center. Heading into the second quarter, reservations at our resort properties are trending well ahead of pre-pandemic levels, while event bookings at our sports center remain very strong. Meanwhile, sales of season passes and related add-on products, such as all-season dining and beverage, are up meaningfully over 2019 levels at the same time. Historically, early season strength within these revenue categories has served as a reliable indicator of full-year performance and the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts, something we see as critical as we enter the most important stage of our season pass sales cycle. For the first quarter, we had five parks that had opened for the 2022 season. Positive early season results, led by Knott's Berry Farm, our only year-round park, generated strong momentum in the first quarter. Let me share a few highlights. First, net revenues of $99 million set a new high for the first quarter, representing a 48% increase versus the first quarter of 2019. Second, demand remains strong, with park attendance up 24% compared to the same period in 2019. Third, in-park per capita spending increased 28% over the same quarter in 2019, reflecting a continuation of the strong levels of guest spending we generated across all key revenue channels over the second half of 2021. And finally, total out-of-park revenues were up 12% compared to the first quarter of 2019. After reporting record revenues in the back half of 2021, we are focused on evaluating every important revenue metric in our business, while also studying consumer trends in the broader market to ensure that we build on the momentum and achieve record results in 2022. At this early stage, we are very encouraged by the solid first quarter results and are confident that the positive trends through the first four months of the year indicate we are well positioned for another outstanding year in 2022. Updating our performance through this past Sunday, May 1st, net revenues versus the comparable period of 2019 increased 33%, or approximately $48 million, to a record $193 million. This record four-month performance was driven by continued strength in demand and guest spending across all key revenue channels. These are encouraging signs heading into the busy summer season when all 13 of our properties will be open and operating without restrictions for the first time since 2019. I want to shift gears for a moment and provide more context around the labor environment we're operating in this year, given labor supply shortages and upward wage pressures. First, I'm pleased to report our recruiting and hiring of seasonal associates this year is improving when compared to the challenging labor market we faced during the 2021 season. Last year, we made the decision to immediately embrace the market structural shift and offer top dollar rates in each of our markets. This pay philosophy was not only vital to our strong second half performance, but it has also enabled us to recruit and staff parks this year from a position of relative strength. While average hourly rates remain at historic highs, we have been successful in flattening the pay growth curve by reintroducing a wage scale based on seniority, responsibility, and job specialization. We are also once again fully participating in the J-1 Visa Exchange Program, an avenue to supplement our domestic recruiting efforts that has proven to be very effective over the years. As we noted on our last call, we anticipate any meaningful increase in labor costs will come less from pressure on rates and more from a higher number of labor hours as our parks return to full operating calendars in 2022. Looking at operating costs more broadly, with the rate of inflation at its highest levels in recent memory, we anticipate already elevated labor and materials costs to trend higher for some time. in our opinion, reflecting a more structural shift in the cost environment than a transient one. Therefore, we have redoubled our efforts to mitigate pressures on the company's cost structure. In addition to the new pay scale, we're taking full advantage of the tools provided by our Kronos workforce management system in an effort to optimize staffing. With improved real-time visibility, we have empowered our park operators to implement incremental labor hour reductions where appropriate aimed at lowering costs without disrupting the guest experience. At the same time, our procurement team continues to identify efficiencies through its centralization efforts and cost-saving strategies aimed at eliminating non-essential costs throughout the company. Consistent with our cost management efforts, our business intelligence team is aggressively applying its revenue management and dynamic data-driven pricing strategies, particularly during periods of peak demand. Last season, these efforts proved to be quite effective in optimizing admissions pricing without materially impacting demand, particularly over the last several months of the year. Since then, the BI team has improved its data gathering and analytical capabilities, while also expanding its focus beyond just our admission products. Today, our BI team is highly focused on optimizing the performance of our in-park revenue centers measuring everything from guest spending patterns related to average transaction value to the number of transactions per guest and per operating hour, intelligence that is routinely informing and driving our pricing decisions. We are optimistic that the combination of these efforts and other planned initiatives give us the best opportunity to drive revenue growth, optimize our cost structure, and improve operating margins. Just as we saw in last year's second half, I'm confident that we are well positioned to maximize the full potential of our portfolio in 2022 and once again validate the strength and resiliency of our business model. I'll pause here so that Brian can review our financial results in more detail. Brian?
You're reading a preview of the FUN Q1 2022 earnings call.
Free account.
