Pandemic causes Cedar Fair net loss

SANDUSKY — The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cost Cedar Point's parent company millions of dollars, but there were some encouraging signs of growing demand. Cedar Fair, the Sandusky-based entertainment company, released earnings for the third fiscal quarter, which ended on Sept. 27. "Despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, we continue to take positive steps to bridge the crisis and position the company for a return to historical performance levels as quickly as possible," said Richard Zimmerman, Cedar Fair president and CEO In the third quarter, the costs outpaced the revenue — $87 million — for a net loss of $136 million when the same three-month period saw a net income of $190 million last year. Cedar Fair blamed the $326 million difference in income between 2019 and 2020 on the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced parks to operate at a diminished capacity or not open at all. Six of the company's 13 properties remained closed in the third quarter, and only two parks — Cedar Point and Kings Island — remained open for weekends after Labor Day. If none of its parks opened, the company projected it would have lost an additional $30 million in revenue. "All the parks that opened this year generated positive cash flow," Zimmerman said. Despite the loss in profit, Zimmerman said the company was encouraged by improved attendance during the three months, with Cedar Point and Kings Island both reaching their reduced capacities. "The progress we've made in reopening parks and driving attendance recovery demonstrates the enduring strength of our regional brands and the loyalty of the guest base in each of our markets," Zimmerman said. "We remain confident that we will successfully emerge from this challenge a stronger and more profitable company." The company also saw an increase in its season pass base for a deferred revenue total of $193 million — an increase of $44 million from the previous year. Cedar Fair believes its total liquidity of $877 million will allow them to meet all of its debts through the end of 2021. "As we look to return our business to some sense of normalcy, we acknowledge visibility around COVID-19 remains poor," Zimmerman said. "Therefore, our plans for the 2021 season will provide our parks with maximum flexibility to tailor operations and programming as necessary in such a dynamic environment." Zimmerman added they plan to reopen all of its parks to open in 2021 and use the lessons they learned this year to improve their operations.