SIX Six Flags Entertainment Corporation

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: SIX), the world’s largest regional theme park company and the largest operator of water parks in North America, today reported first quarter Revenue of $133 million, Net Loss of $83 million, and Adjusted EBITDA(1) loss of $26 million.

"Our 2024 season is off to a promising start, with 2024 season pass sales through April increasing by double-digits compared to last year, pre-booked group sales approaching pre-pandemic levels, and our park beautification and technology initiatives resonating strongly with our guests," said Selim Bassoul, President and CEO. “We remain focused on delivering a world-class experience for our guests, and we are excited to launch many thrilling new rides, attractions, and immersive experiences in time for the peak summer season. As we fully ramp up our operations between now and Memorial Day, we are confident in our ability to build upon early season momentum.”

First Quarter 2024 Results

 

 

Three Months Ended

(Amounts in millions, except per share data)

 

March 31, 2024

 

April 2, 2023

 

% Change vs. 2023

Total revenue

 

$

133

 

 

$

142

 

 

(6

)%

Net loss attributable to Six Flags Entertainment

 

$

(83

)

 

$

(70

)

 

(18

)%

Net loss per share, diluted

 

$

(0.98

)

 

$

(0.84

)

 

(17

)%

Adjusted EBITDA (1)

 

$

(26

)

 

$

(17

)

 

(53

)%

Attendance

 

 

1.7

 

 

 

1.6

 

 

6

%

Spending per capita figures: (2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total guest spending per capita

 

$

74.35

 

 

$

80.88

 

 

(8

)%

Admissions spending per capita

 

$

42.04

 

 

$

47.81

 

 

(12

)%

In-park spending per capita

 

$

32.31

 

 

$

33.07

 

 

(2

)%

Total revenue for first quarter 2024 decreased $9 million, or 6%, compared to first quarter 2023. The change was primarily attributable to a $12 million reduction in revenue related to memberships beyond the initial 12-month commitment period, which is recognized evenly each month and not recognized based on attendance, and a $4 million adjustment to international licensing revenue made in respect of a change in the estimated opening date of Six Flags Qiddiya to mid-2025. These decreases were partially offset by higher attendance, primarily driven by the earlier timing of the Easter holiday.

The $6.53 decrease in guest spending per capita compared to first quarter 2023 consisted of a $5.77 decrease in admissions spending per capita and a $0.76 decrease in in-park spending per capita. The change in guest spending per capita was driven by lower revenue from memberships beyond the initial 12-month commitment period, which includes revenue allocated to Park admissions and to Park food, merchandise, and other. Excluding the impact of lower revenue from memberships beyond the initial 12-month commitment period, guest spending per capita would have been higher than the previous year first quarter by $1.59, or 3%, including an increase in Admissions spending per capita of $0.31, or 1% and an increase of In-park spending per capita of $1.28, or 5%.

The company had a net loss of $83 million in first quarter 2024, compared to net loss of $70 million in first quarter 2023. The loss per share was $0.98 compared to loss per share of $0.84 in first quarter 2023, driven by lower revenue, $5 million in merger-related transaction costs and higher interest costs in first quarter 2024 compared to the prior year first quarter. Cash operating costs(3) decreased by $1 million, or 1%, in first quarter 2024 versus first quarter 2023. Adjusted EBITDA loss for first quarter 2024, which excludes $5 million in merger-related transaction costs, was $26 million, versus an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $17 million in the prior year first quarter.

Balance Sheet and Capital Allocation

As of March 31, 2024, the company had total reported debt of $2,417 million, and cash or cash equivalents of $61 million. Deferred revenue was $165 million as of March 31, 2024, an increase of $13 million, or 9%, from April 2, 2023. In first quarter 2024, the company invested $37 million in new capital.

On May 2, 2024, the company completed the private sale of $850 million in aggregate principal amount of 6.625% senior secured notes due 2032 at an offering price of 100% of the principal amount thereof. Net proceeds from the sale were used to repay in full the principal amounts outstanding under the Existing Term Loan B and the Existing Revolving Facility. Additionally, the company delivered a notice of redemption to the trustee of the 2025 senior secured notes of its intention to repay $165 million of aggregate principal on July 1, 2024, towards which the remaining proceeds will be applied.

Cedar Fair Transaction

On November 2, 2023, the company and Cedar Fair (NYSE: FUN) entered into a definitive merger agreement to combine in a merger of equals transaction. On January 31, 2024, the Registration Statement on Form S-4 containing the proxy statement/prospectus relating to the transaction ("Registration Statement") was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and mailed to the company's shareholders on or about February 1, 2024. A shareholder meeting relating to the merger agreement and other related matters was held on March 12, 2024. At such meeting, the shareholders of the company approved the merger agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby. The merger is expected to close in the first half of 2024, following the receipt of regulatory approvals, including the pending antitrust review in the United States, and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Conference Call

At 7:00 a.m. Central Time today, May 9, 2024, the company will host a conference call to discuss its first quarter 2024 financial performance. The call is accessible through either the Six Flags Investor Relations website at investors.sixflags.com, or by dialing 1-833-629-0614 in the United States or +1-412-317-9257 outside the United States and requesting the Six Flags earnings call. A replay of the call will be available on the company’s investor relations site investors.sixflags.com.

About Six Flags Entertainment Corporation

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is the world’s largest regional theme park company with 27 parks across the United States, Mexico and Canada. For 63 years, Six Flags has entertained hundreds of millions of guests with world-class coasters, themed rides, thrilling water parks and unique attractions. Six Flags is committed to creating an inclusive environment that fully embraces the diversity of our team members and guests. For more information, visit www.sixflags.com.

___________________________________

Forward Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements regarding (i) the adequacy of our cash flows from operations, available cash and available amounts under our credit facilities to meet our liquidity needs, including in the event of a prolonged closure of one or more of our parks, (ii) our ability to execute our strategy to significantly improve our financial performance and the guest experience, (iii) expectations regarding consumer demand for regional, outdoor, out-of-home entertainment, including for our parks, and (iv) expectations regarding our annual income tax liability and the availability and effect of net operating loss carryforwards and other tax benefits.

Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts and often use words such as "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "seeks," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "may," "should," "could" and variations of such words or similar expressions. These statements may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, factors impacting attendance, such as local conditions, natural disasters, contagious diseases, or the perceived threat of contagious diseases, events, disturbances and terrorist activities; economic impact of political instability and conflicts globally, including the war in Ukraine and the Middle East; recall of food, toys and other retail products sold at our parks; accidents or incidents involving the safety of guests and employees, or contagious disease outbreaks occurring at our parks or other parks in the industry and adverse publicity concerning our parks or other parks in the industry; availability of commercially reasonable insurance policies at reasonable rates; inability to achieve desired improvements and our financial performance targets; adverse weather conditions such as excess heat or cold, rain and storms; general financial and credit market conditions, including our ability to access credit or raise capital; the increased cost of capital due to high interest rates; macro-economic conditions (including supply chain issues and the impact of inflation on customer spending patterns); changes in public and consumer tastes; construction delays in capital improvements or ride downtime; competition with other theme parks, water parks and entertainment alternatives; dependence on a seasonal workforce; unionization activities and labor disputes; laws and regulations affecting labor and employee benefit costs, including increases in state and federally mandated minimum wages; environmental laws and regulations; laws and regulations affecting corporate taxation; pending, threatened or future legal proceedings and the significant expenses associated with litigation; cybersecurity risks; the expected timing and likelihood of completion of the proposed transaction with Cedar Fair, including the timing, receipt and terms and conditions of any required regulatory approvals; anticipated tax treatment, unforeseen liabilities, future capital expenditures, revenues, expenses, earnings, synergies, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition, losses, future prospects, business and management strategies for the management, expansion and growth of the combined company’s operations and other conditions to the completion of the proposed transaction, including the possibility that any of the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Cedar Fair, the company or their respective directors and others following announcement of the merger agreement and proposed transaction; the inability to consummate the transaction due to the failure to satisfy other conditions to complete the transaction; risks that the proposed transaction disrupts and/or harms current plans and operations of Cedar Fair or the company, including that management’s time and attention will be diverted on transaction-related issues; the amount of the costs, fees, expenses and charges related to the transaction, including the possibility that the transaction may be more expensive to complete than anticipated; the ability of Cedar Fair and the company to successfully integrate their businesses and to achieve anticipated synergies and value creation; potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the proposed transaction; legislative, regulatory and economic developments and changes in laws, regulations, and policies affecting Cedar Fair and the company; potential business uncertainty, including the outcome of commercial negotiations and changes to existing business relationships during the pendency of the proposed transaction that could affect Cedar Fair’s and/or the company’s financial performance and operating results; and other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the company’s expectations, including the risk factors or uncertainties listed from time to time in the company’s filings with the SEC and the Registration Statement filed by CopperSteel HoldCo, Inc. ("Holdco") with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we make no assurance that such expectations will be realized and actual results could vary materially. Reference is made to a more complete discussion of forward-looking statements and applicable risks contained under the captions "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in our Annual and Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, and our other filings and submissions with the SEC, and the Registration Statement, each of which are available free of charge on the company’s investor relations website at investors.sixflags.com and on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Footnotes

(1)

 

See the following financial statements and Note 4 to those financial statements for a discussion of Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP financial measure) and its reconciliation to net income (loss).

(2)

 

The company uses certain per capita operational metrics that measure the performance of our business on a per guest basis and believe that these metrics provide relevant and useful information for investors because they assist in comparing our operating performance on a consistent basis, make it easier to compare our results with those of other companies and our industry and allows investors to review performance in the same manner as our management.

   

•Total guest spending per capita is the total revenue generated from our guests, on a per guest basis, through admissions and in-park spending. Total guest spending per capita is calculated by dividing the sum of Park admissions revenue and Park food merchandise and other revenue by total attendance.

   

•Admissions revenue per capita is the total revenue generated from our guests, on a per guest basis, to enter our parks. Admissions revenue per capita is calculated by dividing Park admission revenue by total attendance.

   

•Non-admissions revenue per capita is the total revenue generated from our guests, on a per guest basis, on items sold within our parks, such as food, games and merchandise. Non-admission revenue per capita is calculated by dividing Park food, merchandise and other revenue by total attendance.

(3)

 

“Cash operating costs” includes operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization) and selling, general and administrative expenses (excluding stock-based compensation). "Cash operating costs" also excludes $5 million in merger-related transaction costs in first quarter 2024.

Statement of Operations Data

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Twelve Months Ended

(Amounts in thousands, except per share data)

 

March 31, 2024

 

April 2, 2023

 

March 31, 2024

 

April 2, 2023

Park admissions

 

$

70,801

 

 

$

76,303

 

 

$

738,155

 

 

$

738,731

 

Park food, merchandise and other

 

 

54,397

 

 

 

52,786

 

 

 

615,647

 

 

 

569,482

 

Sponsorship, international agreements and accommodations

 

 

8,093

 

 

 

13,101

 

 

 

63,202

 

 

 

54,106

 

Total revenues

 

 

133,291

 

 

 

142,190

 

 

 

1,417,004

 

 

 

1,362,319

 

Operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization shown separately below)

 

 

113,955

 

 

 

108,870

 

 

 

628,037

 

 

 

589,811

 

Selling, general and administrative expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization shown separately below) (1)

 

 

42,517

 

 

 

44,247

 

 

 

246,153

 

 

 

173,483

 

Costs of products sold

 

 

11,123

 

 

 

9,765

 

 

 

111,755

 

 

 

107,796

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

29,500

 

 

 

29,114

 

 

 

115,472

 

 

 

117,189

 

Impairment of park assets

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

22,956

 

 

 

16,943

 

Loss on disposal of assets

 

 

1,394

 

 

 

2,435

 

 

 

15,352

 

 

 

8,462

 

Operating (loss) income

 

 

(65,198

)

 

 

(52,241

)

 

 

277,279

 

 

 

348,635

 

Interest expense, net

 

 

41,800

 

 

 

36,302

 

 

 

163,754

 

 

 

140,362

 

Loss on debt extinguishment

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

13,982

 

 

 

17,533

 

Other (income) expense, net

 

 

(1,040

)

 

 

(832

)

 

 

9,000

 

 

 

(228

)

(Loss) income before income taxes

 

 

(105,958

)

 

 

(87,711

)

 

 

90,543

 

 

 

190,968

 

Income tax (benefit) expense

 

 

(23,232

)

 

 

(17,852

)

 

 

16,910

 

 

 

48,221

 

Net (loss) income

 

$

(82,726

)

 

$

(69,859

)

 

$

73,633

 

 

$

142,747

 

Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

(47,501

)

 

 

(44,651

)

Net (loss) income attributable to Six Flags Entertainment Corporation

 

$

(82,726

)

 

$

(69,859

)

 

$

26,132

 

 

$

98,096

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted-average common shares outstanding:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic:

 

 

84,166

 

 

 

83,207

 

 

 

83,651

 

 

 

83,620

 

Diluted:

 

 

84,486

 

 

 

83,207

 

 

 

83,790

 

 

 

84,615

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Loss) earnings per average common share outstanding:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic:

 

$

(0.98

)

 

$

(0.84

)

 

$

0.31

 

 

$

1.17

 

Diluted:

 

$

(0.98

)

 

$

(0.84

)

 

$

0.31

 

 

$

1.16

 

____________________________________________________________________________

(1)

 

Includes stock-based compensation of $2,347 and $3,314 for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2024, and April 2, 2023, respectively, and stock-based compensation of $10,420 and $13,310 for the twelve-month periods ended March 31, 2024, and April 2, 2023.

 

 

As of

(Amounts in thousands, except share data)

 

March 31, 2024

 

December 31, 2023

 

April 2, 2023

ASSETS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

$

60,702

 

 

$

77,585

 

 

$

64,749

 

Accounts receivable, net

 

 

53,523

 

 

 

62,660

 

 

 

45,462

 

Inventories

 

 

39,188

 

 

 

31,624

 

 

 

41,016

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

 

102,275

 

 

 

80,897

 

 

 

83,639

 

Total current assets

 

 

255,688

 

 

 

252,766

 

 

 

234,866

 

Property and equipment, net:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Property and equipment, at cost

 

 

2,770,068

 

 

 

2,733,094

 

 

 

2,621,518

 

Accumulated depreciation

 

 

(1,472,781

)

 

 

(1,447,861

)

 

 

(1,380,846

)

Total property and equipment, net

 

 

1,297,287

 

 

 

1,285,233

 

 

 

1,240,672

 

Goodwill

 

 

659,618

 

 

 

659,618

 

 

 

659,618

 

Intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization

 

 

344,135

 

 

 

344,141

 

 

 

344,158

 

Right-of-use operating leases, net

 

 

146,023

 

 

 

134,857

 

 

 

156,376

 

Other assets, net

 

 

35,131

 

 

 

34,859

 

 

 

22,502

 

Total assets

 

$

2,737,882

 

 

$

2,711,474

 

 

$

2,658,192

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts payable

 

$

44,539

 

 

$

27,235

 

 

$

43,513

 

Accrued compensation, payroll taxes and benefits

 

 

21,304

 

 

 

18,957

 

 

 

14,417

 

Self-insurance reserves

 

 

63,743

 

 

 

64,605

 

 

 

34,032

 

Accrued interest payable

 

 

42,752

 

 

 

28,704

 

 

 

27,527

 

Other accrued liabilities

 

 

69,949

 

 

 

73,087

 

 

 

60,032

 

Deferred revenue

 

 

165,414

 

 

 

127,556

 

 

 

152,096

 

Short-term borrowings

 

 

230,000

 

 

 

180,000

 

 

 

170,000

 

Current portion of long-term debt

 

 

56,867

 

 

 

56,867

 

 

 

—

 

Short-term lease liabilities

 

 

10,986

 

 

 

10,514

 

 

 

12,040

 

Total current liabilities

 

 

705,554

 

 

 

587,525

 

 

 

513,657

 

Noncurrent liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long-term debt

 

 

2,129,642

 

 

 

2,128,612

 

 

 

2,281,841

 

Long-term lease liabilities

 

 

171,713

 

 

 

155,335

 

 

 

166,562

 

Other long-term liabilities

 

 

27,195

 

 

 

27,263

 

 

 

28,477

 

Deferred income taxes

 

 

161,139

 

 

 

189,700

 

 

 

162,973

 

Total liabilities

 

 

3,195,243

 

 

 

3,088,435

 

 

 

3,153,510

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Redeemable noncontrolling interests

 

 

520,998

 

 

 

520,998

 

 

 

521,395

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stockholders' deficit:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preferred stock, $1.00 par value

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

Common stock, $0.025 par value, 280,000,000 shares authorized; 84,274,760, 84,124,014 and 83,279,300 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2024, December 31, 2023 and April 2, 2023, respectively

 

 

2,116

 

 

 

2,112

 

 

 

2,082

 

Capital in excess of par value (2)

 

 

1,133,551

 

 

 

1,131,208

 

 

 

1,122,429

 

Accumulated deficit (2)

 

 

(2,044,329

)

 

 

(1,961,603

)

 

 

(2,070,530

)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax

 

 

(69,697

)

 

 

(69,676

)

 

 

(70,694

)

Total stockholders' deficit

 

 

(978,359

)

 

 

(897,959

)

 

 

(1,016,713

)

Total liabilities and stockholders' deficit

 

$

2,737,882

 

 

$

2,711,474

 

 

$

2,658,192

 

 

 

Year Ended

(Amounts in thousands)

 

March 31, 2024

 

April 2, 2023

Cash flows from operating activities:

 

 

 

 

Net loss

 

$

(82,726

)

 

$

(69,859

)

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

29,500

 

 

 

29,114

 

Stock-based compensation (2)

 

 

2,347

 

 

 

3,314

 

Interest accretion on notes payable

 

 

211

 

 

 

278

 

Amortization of debt issuance costs

 

 

1,155

 

 

 

1,566

 

Loss on disposal of assets

 

 

1,394

 

 

 

2,435

 

Deferred income tax benefit

 

 

(26,970

)

 

 

(20,672

)

Other

 

 

(1,651

)

 

 

30

 

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

 

 

 

 

Decrease in accounts receivable - trade

 

 

8,861

 

 

 

7,426

 

Increase in inventories, prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

 

(29,608

)

 

 

(18,672

)

(Increase) decrease in deposits and other assets

 

 

(1,307

)

 

 

2,834

 

(Increase) decrease in ROU operating leases

 

 

(11,328

)

 

 

2,847

 

Increase in accounts payable, deferred revenue and accrued liabilities and other long-term liabilities

 

 

49,995

 

 

 

12,070

 

Increase in operating lease liabilities

 

 

15,605

 

 

 

1,977

 

(Decrease) increase in accrued interest payable

 

 

14,048

 

 

 

(10,957

)

Net cash used in operating activities

 

$

(30,474

)

 

$

(56,269

)

 

 

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities:

 

 

 

 

Additions to property and equipment

 

 

(37,218

)

 

 

(25,488

)

Property insurance recoveries

 

 

—

 

 

 

481

 

Proceeds from asset sales

 

 

227

 

 

 

—

 

Net cash used in investing activities

 

$

(36,991

)

 

$

(25,007

)

 

 

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities:

 

 

 

 

Repayment of borrowings

 

 

(10,000

)

 

 

(10,000

)

Proceeds from borrowings

 

 

60,000

 

 

 

80,000

 

Payment of debt issuance costs

 

 

—

 

 

 

(970

)

Payment of tax withholdings on equity-based compensation through shares withheld

 

 

(120

)

 

 

(104

)

Reduction in finance lease liability

 

 

(260

)

 

 

(247

)

Net cash provided by financing activities

 

$

49,620

 

 

$

68,679

 

 

 

 

 

 

Effect of exchange rate on cash

 

$

962

 

 

$

(2,776

)

 

 

 

 

 

Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents

 

$

(16,883

)

 

$

(15,373

)

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

 

$

77,585

 

 

$

80,122

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

 

$

60,702

 

 

$

64,749

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplemental cash flow information

 

 

 

 

Cash paid for interest

 

$

27,508

 

 

$

46,209

 

Cash paid for income taxes

 

$

3,743

 

 

$

311

 

Definition and Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We prepare our financial statements in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). In our press release, we make reference to non-GAAP financial measures including Modified EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. The definition for each of these non-GAAP financial measures is set forth below in the notes to the reconciliation tables. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide important and useful information for investors to facilitate a comparison of our operating performance on a consistent basis from period to period and make it easier to compare our results with those of other companies in our industry. We use these measures for internal planning and forecasting purposes, to evaluate ongoing operations and our performance generally, and in our annual and long-term incentive plans. By providing these measures, we provide our investors with the ability to review our performance in the same manner as our management.

However, because these non-GAAP financial measures are not determined in accordance with GAAP, they are susceptible to varying calculations, and not all companies calculate these measures in the same manner. As a result, these non-GAAP financial measures as presented may not be directly comparable to a similarly titled non-GAAP financial measure presented by another company. These non-GAAP financial measures are presented as supplemental information and not as alternatives to any GAAP financial measures. When reviewing a non-GAAP financial measure, we encourage our investors to fully review and consider the related reconciliation as detailed below.

The following tables set forth a reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBITDA for the three-month periods and twelve-month periods ended March 31, 2024, and April 2, 2023:

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Twelve Months Ended

(Amounts in thousands, except per share data)

 

March 31, 2024

 

April 2, 2023

 

March 31, 2024

 

April 2, 2023

Net (loss) income

 

$

(82,726

)

 

$

(69,859

)

 

$

73,633

 

 

$

142,747

 

Income tax (benefit) expense

 

 

(23,232

)

 

 

(17,852

)

 

 

16,910

 

 

 

48,221

 

Other (income) expense, net

 

 

(1,040

)

 

 

(832

)

 

 

9,000

 

 

 

(228

)

Loss on debt extinguishment

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

13,982

 

 

 

17,533

 

Interest expense, net

 

 

41,800

 

 

 

36,302

 

 

 

163,754

 

 

 

140,362

 

Loss on disposal of assets

 

 

1,394

 

 

 

2,435

 

 

 

15,352

 

 

 

8,462

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

29,500

 

 

 

29,114

 

 

 

115,472

 

 

 

117,189

 

Impairment of park assets

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

22,956

 

 

 

16,943

 

Stock-based compensation

 

 

2,347

 

 

 

3,314

 

 

 

10,420

 

 

 

13,310

 

Merger-related transaction costs

 

 

5,561

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

20,947

 

 

 

—

 

Self-insurance reserve adjustment (2)

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

37,558

 

 

 

—

 

Modified EBITDA (3)

 

$

(26,396

)

 

$

(17,378

)

 

$

499,984

 

 

$

504,539

 

Third party interest in EBITDA of certain operations (4)

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

(47,501

)

 

 

(44,651

)

Adjusted EBITDA (3)

 

$

(26,396

)

 

$

(17,378

)

 

$

452,483

 

 

$

459,888

 

____________________________________________________________________________

(2)

 

Amount relates to an adjustment to our self-insurance reserves resulting from a change in accounting estimate that increased our ultimate loss indications on both identified claims and incurred but not reported claims, as discussed in more detail above in our review of second quarter 2023 results. We have excluded this adjustment from our reported Adjusted EBITDA because we believe (i) the change in actuarial assumptions and related change in accounting estimate that gave rise to the adjustment is unusual and not expected to be recurring; (ii) excluding it provides more meaningful comparisons to our historical results; and (iii) excluding it provides more meaningful comparisons to other companies in our industry.

(3)

 

"Modified EBITDA,” a non-GAAP measure, is defined as our consolidated income (loss) from continuing operations: excluding the following: the cumulative effect of changes in accounting principles, discontinued operations gains or losses, income tax expense or benefit, restructure costs or recoveries, reorganization items (net), other income or expense, gain or loss on early extinguishment of debt, equity in income or loss of investees, interest expense (net), gain or loss on disposal of assets, gain or loss on the sale of investees, amortization, depreciation, stock-based compensation, fresh start accounting valuation adjustments and other significant non-recurring items. Modified EBITDA, as defined herein, may differ from similarly titled measures presented by other companies. Management uses non-GAAP measures for budgeting purposes, measuring actual results, allocating resources and in determining employee incentive compensation. We believe that Modified EBITDA provides relevant and useful information for investors because it assists in comparing our operating performance on a consistent basis, makes it easier to compare our results with those of other companies in our industry as it most closely ties our performance to that of our competitors from a park-level perspective and allows investors to review performance in the same manner as our management.

 

 

"Adjusted EBITDA," a non-GAAP measure, is defined as Modified EBITDA minus the interests of third parties in the Modified EBITDA of properties that are less than wholly owned (consisting of Six Flags Over Georgia, Six Flags White Water Atlanta and Six Flags Over Texas). Adjusted EBITDA is approximately equal to “Parent Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA” as defined in our secured credit agreement, except that Parent Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA excludes Adjusted EBITDA from equity investees that is not distributed to us in cash on a net basis and has limitations on the amounts of certain expenses that are excluded from the calculation. Adjusted EBITDA as defined herein may differ from similarly titled measures presented by other companies. Our board of directors and management use Adjusted EBITDA to measure our performance and our current management incentive compensation plans are based largely on Adjusted EBITDA. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is frequently used by all our sell-side analysts and most investors as their primary measure of our performance in the evaluation of companies in our industry. In addition, the instruments governing our indebtedness use Adjusted EBITDA to measure our compliance with certain covenants and, in certain circumstances, our ability to make certain borrowings. Adjusted EBITDA, as computed by us, may not be comparable to similar metrics used by other companies in our industry.

(4)

 

Represents interests of non-controlling interests in the Adjusted EBITDA of Six Flags Over Georgia, Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags White Water Atlanta.

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240509443905/en/

Evan Bertrand Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasurer +1-972-595-5180 investorrelations@sftp.com