Ardent: Getting ready for the main event

Last Friday, Ardent Leisure Group (ASX: AAD) provided a trading update for its Dreamworld and Main Event businesses. Despite seeing attendance numbers increase steadily since re-opening on 10 December 2016, Dreamworld’s unaudited revenue fell 63.0% to $3.66 million, versus $9.89 million recorded in December 2015. As we discussed at our Shareholder Presentations, we are monitoring the visitation daily at Dreamworld and note that visitor numbers may begin to build over January with favourable weather conditions and the re-opening of the remaining four rides. In relation to the important Main Event division in the United States, Ardent confirmed that revenue was US$102.1 million for the six months to 31 December 2016, with average sales growth per centre down 2.9%. Pleasingly, Main Event’s newly constructed centres are performing above expectations and are exceeding management targets, and we expect this momentum to contribute to positive sales growth per centre over the next 12 months. Shares in Ardent closed up 0.9% for the week. We own Ardent as a research driven investment in WAM Capital, WAM Leaders and WAM Research.