ORLANDO, Florida — Shares of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. fell 30% Wednesday after the theme park operator reported second-quarter profit and sales that missed Wall Street expectations and cut its outlook for the year.
The Orlando, Florida-based company also said it believes attendance during the period was hurt by negative publicity surrounding its treatment of killer whales, which are trained to perform tricks. A documentary last year called "Blackfish" suggested that the company's treatment of the killer whales provokes violent behavior from them, which in turn has led to the death of trainers.
[seealso slug="summer-travel-apps"]
On Wednesday, the company said promotions and discounts also hurt revenue in the April-June period. It cut its sales guidance for the year — it now expects revenue to drop 6% to 7% — and plans to cut costs.
For the three months that ended on June 30, the company reported net income of $37.3 million, or $0.43 per share. Analysts expected $0.60 per share, according to Zacks Investment Research. A year ago, SeaWorld reported a loss of $15.9 million, or $0.18 per share.
Revenue declined 1.5% to $405.2 million. Analysts expected $447.7 million.