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 third quarter Revenue of $547 million, Net Income of $111 million, and Adjusted EBITDA of $220 million.

“We have put forth substantial effort this year to establish a baseline for sustainable and meaningful growth, and our third quarter was focused on investment in the guest experience,” said Selim Bassoul, President and CEO. "I am proud of our team for the great strides made in advancing our digital transformation and the expansion and acceleration of our events calendar. We are also pleased with the progress we are seeing in sales for next year's season passes, which are well ahead of this time last year and a sign of the excitement our guests are feeling about our parks. In a year challenged by unusually difficult weather, we have been able to grow our attendance and increase revenues while simultaneously investing in our park infrastructure, attractions, and technology, as well as pay down debt."

Third Quarter 2023 Results

Total revenue for third quarter 2023 increased $43 million, or 8%, compared to third quarter 2022, driven by higher attendance and higher sponsorship revenue, partially offset by lower total guest spending per capita. The increase in attendance was driven primarily by higher season pass sales in third quarter 2023 versus prior year, combined with increased advertising and media spend through the third quarter, as well as an accelerated start to the Fall events schedule.

The $4.59 decrease in total guest spending per capita compared to third quarter 2022 consisted of a $4.07 decrease in admissions spending per capita and a $0.52 decrease in in-park spending per capita. The decrease in admissions spending per capita was driven primarily by the planned effort to optimize season pass and single-day ticket pricing, which resulted in lower average admissions pricing in third quarter 2023 versus third quarter 2022. The decrease in in-park spending per capita was driven primarily by lower spend on parking, retail, and flash passes, resulting from a higher mix of attendance from season passes in third quarter 2023 versus the prior year. Due to certain benefits available to season pass holders, guests visiting on a season pass spend less per visit on certain in-park products than guests visiting on a single-day ticket. The season pass mix-driven decline in in-park spending per capita was partially offset by higher food and beverage sales in third quarter 2023 versus the prior year.

The company had net income of $111 million in third quarter 2023, compared to net income of $114 million in third quarter 2022. The net income per share was $1.32 compared to net income per share of $1.37 in third quarter 2022 ⁽⁵⁾. Expenses increased in third quarter 2023 versus prior year due to several factors, including an increase in cost of sales and cash operating costs ⁽⁴⁾ driven by higher attendance in third quarter 2023, increased advertising spend to promote season passes, higher costs associated with an earlier start to the Fall events schedule, and investments in new entertainment, events, shows, and guest-facing digital initiatives. Adjusted EBITDA in third quarter 2023 was 220 million, a $5 million decrease from the prior year ⁽³⁾.

First Nine Months 2023 Results

Total revenue for first nine months 2023 increased $55 million, or 5%, compared to first nine months 2022, driven by higher attendance and higher sponsorship, partially offset by lower total guest spending per capita. The increase in attendance was driven primarily by a higher season pass sales in first nine months 2023 versus prior year, combined with increased advertising and media spend throughout the first nine months, as well as an accelerated start to the Fall events schedule.

The $3.35 decrease in total guest spending per capita compared to first nine months 2022 consisted of a $2.84 decrease in admissions spending per capita and a $0.51 decrease in in-park spending per capita. The decrease in admissions spending per capita was driven primarily by the planned effort to optimize season pass and single-day ticket pricing, which resulted in lower average admissions pricing in third quarter 2023 versus third quarter 2022. The decrease in in-park spending per capita was driven primarily by lower spend on parking, retail, and flash passes, resulting from a higher mix of attendance from season passes in first nine months 2023 versus the prior year. Due to certain benefits available to season pass holders, guests visiting on a season pass spend less per visit on certain in-park products than guests visiting on a single-day ticket. The season pass mix-driven decline in in-park spending per capita was partially offset by higher food and beverage sales in first nine months 2023 versus the prior year.

The company had net income of $61 million in first nine months 2023, compared to net income of $91 million in first nine months 2022. The net income per share was $0.73 compared to net income per share of $1.07 in first nine months 2022 ⁽⁵⁾. In second quarter 2023, the company incurred an increase in self-insurance reserves of $38 million. Our self-insurance reserves are periodically reviewed for changes in facts and circumstances and adjustments are made as necessary. During second quarter 2023, we revised the estimate of our ultimate loss indications for both identified claims and incurred but not reported (“IBNR”) claims in connection with our general liability and worker’s compensation self-insurance reserves. The increase in our revised estimate was based on greater than previously estimated reserve adjustments on certain identified claims as well as an observed pattern of increasing litigation and settlement costs and changes to key actuarial assumptions utilized in determining estimated ultimate losses, including loss development factors. Additionally, expenses increased in first nine months 2023 versus prior year due to several factors, including an increase in cost of sales and cash operating costs ⁽⁴⁾ driven by higher attendance in first nine months 2023, increased advertising spend to promote season passes, higher costs associated with an earlier start to the Fall events schedule, and investments in new entertainments, shows, events, and guest-facing digital initiatives. Adjusted EBITDA in first nine months 2023, which excludes the $38 million self-insurance reserves estimate adjustment, was $363 million, a $1 million increase from the prior year ⁽³⁾.

As of October 1, 2023, the company had total reported debt of $2,273 million, and cash or cash equivalents of $67 million. In third quarter 2023, the company repaid $80 million in aggregate net principal amount of debt. Deferred revenue was $148 million as of October 1, 2023, an increase of $21 million, or 17%, from October 2, 2022. The increase was primarily due to higher season pass sales year-to-date through October 1, 2023 versus October 2, 2022. In first nine months 2023, the company invested $109 million in new capital, net of insurance recoveries.

The company will no longer host a conference call to discuss its third quarter 2023 financial performance on November 9, 2023 as previously announced..

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.

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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 effect, impact, potential duration or other implications of the COVID-19 pandemic or virus variants, and any expectations we may have with respect thereto including the continuing efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines, (ii) 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, (iii) our ability to execute our strategy to significantly improve our financial performance and the guest experience, (iv) expectations regarding consumer demand for regional, outdoor, out-of-home entertainment, including for our parks, and (v) 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, including COVID-19 and Monkeypox, or the perceived threat of contagious diseases, events, disturbances and terrorist activities; regulations and guidance of federal, state and local governments and health officials regarding the response to COVID-19 or other health emergencies such as Monkeypox, including with respect to business operations, safety protocols and public gatherings; economic impact of political instability and conflicts globally, including the war in Ukraine; 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 raising 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, and healthcare reform; 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; 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 Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). 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, 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

Statement of Operations Data

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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, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA minus capex. 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, nine-month periods and twelve-month periods ended October 1, 2023, and October 2, 2022:

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