Six Flags Entertainment Corp (FUN) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company 2024 First Quarter Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions). And finally, I would like to advise to participants that this call is being recorded. Thank you.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 Cedar Fair 娛樂公司 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）。最後，我想提醒參與者，這通通話正在錄音。謝謝。

I'd now like to hand over to Cedar Fair.

我現在想把工作交給 Cedar Fair。

Thank you, Gavin, and good morning, everyone. My name is Michael Russell, Corporate Director of Investor Relations for Cedar Fair. Welcome to today's earnings call to review our 2024 first quarter results for the period ended March 31. Earlier this morning, we distributed via wire service our earnings press release, a copy of which is available under the News tab of our investors website at ir.cedarfair.com. On the call with me this morning are Cedar Fair's Chief Executive Officer, Richard Zimmerman; and our Chief Financial Officer, Brian Witherow.

謝謝你，加文，大家早安。我叫 Michael Russell，Cedar Fair 投資者關係公司總監。歡迎參加今天的財報電話會議，回顧我們截至3 月31 日的2024 年第一季業績。在「新聞」標籤下查看該新聞稿的副本。今天早上與我通話的是 Cedar Fair 執行長 Richard Zimmerman；以及我們的財務長 Brian Witherow。

Before we begin, I need to remind you that comments made during this call will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those described in such statements. For a more detailed discussion of these risks, you may refer to the company's filings with the SEC.

在我們開始之前，我需要提醒您，本次電話會議中發表的評論將包括聯邦證券法含義內的前瞻性陳述。這些陳述可能涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與此類陳述中描述的結果不同。有關這些風險的更詳細討論，您可以參考該公司向 SEC 提交的文件。

In compliance with the SEC's Regulation FD, this webcast is being made available to the media and the general public as well as analysts and investors. Because the webcast is open to all constituents and prior notification has been widely and unselectively disseminated, all content on this call will be considered fully disclosed.

根據 SEC 的 FD 法規，該網路廣播將向媒體、公眾以及分析師和投資者開放。由於網路廣播向所有選民開放，事先通知已被廣泛且無選擇性地傳播，因此本次電話會議的所有內容將被視為已完全披露。

Before we begin, I want to reiterate that the purpose of today's call is to discuss the 2024 first quarter results and answer related questions. During Q&A, management will not be taking questions about the proposed merger with Six Flags.

在開始之前，我想重申，今天電話會議的目的是討論2024年第一季業績並回答相關問題。在問答過程中，管理層不會回答有關與六旗擬議合併的問題。

With that, I'd like to introduce our CEO, Richard Zimmerman. Richard?

接下來，我想介紹一下我們的執行長理查德·齊默爾曼 (Richard Zimmerman)。理查德？

Thank you, Michael. Good morning, and thanks to everyone for joining us today. Before we discuss our results, let me provide a quick update on where we stand in terms of the proposed merger with Six Flags. Back in March, Six Flags shareholders overwhelmingly approved the merger of equals transaction which we continue to believe will be completed before the end of the second quarter. At this time, we have substantially complied fully with the Department of Justice second request and both companies continue to work constructively with the DOJ in its ongoing review of the merger. At the same time, our team has been working diligently to complete the initial phases of a joint integration plan that upon closing of the transaction will allow us to bring our 2 strong companies together efficiently and effectively and realize the full potential of the strategic combination. Naturally, as this process moves forward, we will keep the market apprised of other material events.

謝謝你，麥可。早安，感謝大家今天加入我們。在討論我們的結果之前，讓我快速介紹一下我們在與六旗擬議合併方面的最新情況。早在三月份，六旗股東就以壓倒性多數批准了平等合併交易，我們仍然相信該交易將在第二季末之前完成。目前，我們已基本完全遵守了司法部的第二項要求，兩家公司將繼續與司法部就合併審查進行建設性合作。同時，我們的團隊一直在努力完成聯合整合計劃的初始​​階段，該計劃在交易完成後將使我們能夠高效、有效地將兩家強大的公司整合在一起，並充分發揮戰略合併的潛力。當然，隨著這項進程的推進，我們將隨時向市場通報其他重大事件。

Now let's move on to our operating results and our outlook for the year ahead. Earlier this morning, we reported first quarter results that maintain the positive momentum we established during last year's record second half. Our first quarter results were solidly in line with our expectations coming into the year. Although our first quarter historically represents only about 5% of our full year attendance and revenues, getting off to a strong start and building solid demand in our long lead channels is critical.

現在讓我們來談談我們的經營業績和對未來一年的展望。今天早些時候，我們報告了第一季業績，該業績保持了我們在去年創紀錄的下半年建立的積極勢頭。我們第一季的業績與我們今年的預期完全一致。儘管從歷史上看，第一季的客座率和收入僅佔全年的 5% 左右，但良好的開端並在我們的長期領先通路中建立穩固的需求至關重要。

Our first quarter performance positions us well for the peak summer season ahead and validates the strength of our portfolio and strategy as well as our belief that consumers continue to place a high priority on experiential entertainment. In a few minutes, Brian will review our operating results in more detail. First, however, let me highlight a few specific factors that underpin our confidence in Cedar Fair's long-term business model and the season ahead. First, we are coming off a record 2023 second half, and the key drivers of the strategy behind those results remain in place. Second, our long lead indicators led by season pass sales are trending very well. Third, our initiatives to operate more efficiently without sacrificing guest service are working and we are confident this will drive long-term margin expansion. And lastly, in 2024, we have our most complete and compelling capital program since the disruption of the pandemic and we are already seeing increased anticipation and excitement in our markets for all of the new rides and attractions.

我們第一季的業績使我們在未來的夏季旺季中處於有利地位，並驗證了我們的產品組合和策略的實力以及我們的信念，即消費者繼續高度重視體驗式娛樂。幾分鐘後，布萊恩將更詳細地審查我們的營運結果。不過，首先，讓我強調一些支持我們對 Cedar Fair 長期商業模式和未來季節信心的具體因素。首先，我們即將迎來創紀錄的 2023 年下半年，而這些結果背後的策略關鍵驅動因素仍然存在。其次，我們以季票銷售為主導的長期領先指標趨勢非常好。第三，我們在不犧牲客戶服務的情況下提高營運效率的措施正在發揮作用，我們相信這將推動長期利潤率的擴張。最後，到 2024 年，我們將擁有自疫情爆發以來最完整、最引人注目的資本計劃，並且我們已經看到市場對所有新遊樂設施和景點的期待和興奮不斷增加。

For the upcoming season, we strategically allocated capital dollars across our portfolio and are introducing marquee caliber attractions at 6 of our parks, including our 4 largest parks, as well as investing in numerous enhancements to the food and beverage, retail and premium experience offerings across our portfolio. Headline is in this year's (inaudible) 2 marquee attractions include Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point, the world's tallest and fastest triple launch strata coaster and a record-breaking thrill ride unlike any other anywhere. The ride they [give] to the public this past weekend and the response from our guests was incredible.

在即將到來的季節，我們在我們的投資組合中策略性地分配了資本，並在我們的6 個公園（包括4 個最大的公園）引入了大型景點，並投資於食品和飲料、零售和優質體驗產品的眾多增強功能。頭條新聞是今年（聽不清楚）的2 個熱門景點，其中包括雪松點(Cedar Point) 的Top Thrill 2、世界上最高、最快的三重發射分層過山車以及不同於任何其他地方的破紀錄的驚險遊樂設施。他們上週末向公眾提供的乘車體驗以及我們客人的反應令人難以置信。

Iron Menace at Dorney Park, the Northeast first dive coaster. The world's first kids water coaster at our Schlitterbahn Park in New Brownfields, Texas; and finally, the addition of new family coasters to the Camp Snoopy areas at both Kings Island and Knott's Berry Farm. We are confident these new rides and attractions will drive urgency and strong demand with our guests. I'm equally excited about the work our team is doing behind the scenes on the digital technology front.

多尼公園 (Dorney Park) 的鋼鐵威脅 (Iron Menace)，這是東北部第一個俯衝過山車。世界上第一個兒童水上過山車位於德克薩斯州新布朗菲爾德的 Schlitterbahn 公園；最後，國王島和納氏草莓園的史努比營地區域新增了新的家庭過山車。我們相信這些新的遊樂設施和景點將推動我們的客人的緊迫感和強勁需求。我對我們的團隊在數位科技領域的幕後所做的工作同樣感到興奮。

Based on our consumer road map strategy, we are making investments in scalable technologies that enhance the guest experience, drive revenue growth and improve operational efficiencies for our associates. An integral part of our long-term strategic planning process is a holistic analysis of the guest journey. We take a deep dive into every step our guests take in the process associated with the park visit. From researching and buying tickets to leaving the parking lot for the ride home. The objective for this exercise is known as Making Fun Easy, which is consistent with our goal to continually evolve and enhance the guest experience.

根據我們的消費者路線圖策略，我們正在對可擴展的技術進行投資，以增強賓客體驗、推動收入成長並提高員工的營運效率。我們長期策略規劃流程的一個組成部分是對賓客旅程的整體分析。我們深入研究客人在公園參觀過程中採取的每一步。從研究和購買門票到離開停車場乘車回家。這項活動的目標是“讓樂趣變得簡單”，這與我們不斷發展和增強賓客體驗的目標是一致的。

Fast forward to what this means to our guests and our associates in 2024. In April, Carowinds, our park in Charlotte, became the first outdoor entertainment complex in the country to offer next-gen, 6G-enabled, WiFi coverage. And by the end of this year, this same technology will drive the wireless network at our 6 largest parks. Deploying a robust wireless network with improved coverage and capacity is consistent with our goal to seamlessly integrate and support the best possible experience for our guests and our associates.

快進到 2024 年，這對我們的客人和員工意味著什麼。今年底，同樣的技術將推動我們 6 個最大公園的無線網路發展。部署覆蓋範圍更廣、容量更大的強大無線網路符合我們無縫整合並支援為賓客和員工提供最佳體驗的目標。

For the 2024 season, we are also introducing our next-gen mobile app that features a broader range of capabilities and experiential enhancements, including fast lane wait times and improved mapping of our parks. Our new park app has been introduced at all parks except for the Schlitterbahn Waterpark, where the app is targeted for rollout later in the year. Throughout the season, our team will be activating additional user-friendly features park by park, including real-time ticketing upgrade capabilities, incremental guest access to dining menus with mobile ordering functionality and other unique guest engagement options.

在 2024 年季節，我們還推出了下一代行動應用程序，該應用程式具有更廣泛的功能和體驗增強功能，包括快速通道等待時間和改進的公園地圖。我們的新公園應用程式已在除 Schlitterbahn 水上樂園外的所有公園推出，該應用程式計劃於今年稍後推出。在整個季節，我們的團隊將逐個公園啟動額外的用戶友好功能，包括即時票務升級功能、透過行動訂購功能增加客人對餐飲菜單的訪問以及其他獨特的客人參與選項。

We are also rolling out single-use Fast Lane passes at 7 of our parks, including our 5 largest parks. This enhancement to our front of the line program has the potential to make the premium offering of Fast Lane more attractive to a lighter segment of our guest base, providing us with another opportunity for meaningful growth and guest spending. Looking ahead, we are developing other scalable technologies to enhance a wide range of systems and processes, including a more guest friendly design on online ticketing, a next-gen e-commerce system that operates seamlessly across all consumer devices. The addition of more robust data capturing platforms to enhance the capabilities of our business intelligence group, a cloud-based hotel management system to accelerate innovations at our resort properties. And finally, AI partnerships that targets our value creation and risk mitigation across our enterprise.

我們也在 7 個公園（包括 5 個最大的公園）推出一次性快速通行證。我們對第一線計畫的這項增強有可能使 Fast Lane 的優質服務對我們的輕量客戶群更具吸引力，為我們提供了另一個有意義的成長和客戶支出的機會。展望未來，我們正在開發其他可擴展的技術，以增強廣泛的系統和流程，包括對線上票務更方便客人的設計，以及在所有消費者設備上無縫運行的下一代電子商務系統。增加更強大的數據捕獲平台以增強我們的商業智慧團隊的能力，這是一個基於雲端的酒店管理系統，以加速我們度假村的創新。最後，人工智慧合作夥伴關係旨在為我們整個企業創造價值並降低風險。

For decades, our parks were convenient and enjoyable getaway to unplug from the outside world. For most of us today, staying plugged in is a way of life no matter where we go. The expectation to always be connected now drives our consumer road map. Strategically, it's the same rationale we leaned into over the last decade when we invested tens of millions of dollars to build or enhance high-volume culinary engines that offer higher quality food and beverage options. It's simply listening to and responding to what our guests demand.

幾十年來，我們的公園一直是遠離外界喧囂的便捷而愉快的度假勝地。對於今天的大多數人來說，無論我們走到哪裡，保持電源連接都是一種生活方式。現在，對始終保持連線的期望推動了我們的消費者路線圖。從戰略上講，這與我們過去十年投資數千萬美元來建造或增強大容量烹飪引擎以提供更高品質的食品和飲料選擇時所遵循的原理相同。它只是傾聽並回應客人的需求。

With that, I'll turn it over to Brian.

有了這個，我會把它交給布萊恩。

Thanks, Richard, and good morning. I'll start by discussing our first quarter results before wrapping up my remarks with updates on our balance sheet and the current state of our long lead indicators. As Richard mentioned, due to the highly seasonal nature of our business, first quarter results represent only 5% of full year attendance and net revenues, as most of our parks are closed during the period. As such, the company typically operates at a loss during the first quarter. It's also important to note that due to the fiscal calendar shift in the current year, the first quarter of 2024 includes 13 weeks of results compared to only 12 weeks in the first quarter last year.

謝謝理查德，早安。我將首先討論我們第一季的業績，然後以我們的資產負債表更新和長期領先指標的當前狀態結束我的演講。正如理查德所提到的，由於我們業務的季節性很強，第一季的業績僅佔全年遊客量和淨收入的 5%，因為我們的大多數公園在此期間都關閉。因此，該公司第一季通常處於虧損狀態。還需要注意的是，由於今年財政日曆的變化，2024 年第一季包括 13 週的業績，而去年第一季只有 12 週。

Because of the impact of the fiscal calendar shift, I'll start my comments with a recap of our financial results as reported before reviewing first quarter performance trends on a comparable week basis. Including the planned extra week in the period, operating days in the quarter totaled 117 compared with 161 operating days in the first quarter of 2023.

由於財政日曆變化的影響，我將首先回顧我們所報告的財務業績，然後回顧可比周的第一季業績趨勢。包括該期間計劃增加的一周，該季度的營運天數總計 117 天，而 2023 年第一季的營運天數為 161 天。

The net decrease of 44 operating days was primarily the result of a strategic decision to eliminate lower-value, higher-risk operating days early in the year at several parks. These strategic calendar changes were primarily concentrated at 3 of our seasonal parks: Carowinds, Kings Dominion and California's Great America. For the quarter, we generated a record $102 million in net revenues on attendance of 1.3 million guests. This compares with venues of $85 million and attendance of 1.1 million guests during the first quarter of 2023.

營業天數淨減少 44 個，主要是由於今年年初一些園區做出了取消價值較低、風險較高的營業天數的策略決策的結果。這些策略性日曆變化主要集中在我們的 3 個季節性公園：Carowinds、Kings Dominion 和 California's Great America。本季度，我們因 130 萬名賓客出席而創造了創紀錄的 1.02 億美元淨收入。相比之下，2023 年第一季的場館價值為 8,500 萬美元，入場人數為 110 萬人。

In addition to the 290,000 visit increase in attendance, the higher net revenues during the period reflect a $4 million increase in out-of-park revenues to a record $23 million. The increases in capita -- I'm sorry, the increases in first quarter attendance and out-of-park revenues were partially offset by a 6% or $3.94 decrease in in-park per capita spending. The increase in attendance during the quarter was the direct result of higher season pass sales and improved weather at Knott's Berry Farm as well as the inclusion of the extra calendar week in the current period.

除了參觀人數增加 29 萬人次之外，該期間淨收入的增加還反映出公園外收入增加了 400 萬美元，達到創紀錄的 2,300 萬美元。人均支出的增長——抱歉，第一季遊客數量和園外收入的增長被園內人均支出 6% 或 3.94 美元的下降部分抵消。本季參觀人數的增加是季票銷量增加、納氏草莓園天氣改善以及本期額外日曆週納入的直接結果。

Meanwhile, the increase in out-of-park revenues reflects the impact of the extra week as well as the improved performance of the Knott's Hotel, which was under renovations at this time last year. The decline in per capita spending is due to a planned decrease in season pass pricing and a higher mix of season pass visitation at Knott's Berry Farm during the period. The softer per caps at Knott's were partially offset by improved in-park per capita spending at the 4 other parks with limited first quarter operations.

同時，公園外收入的增加反映了額外一周的影響以及去年此時正在進行裝修的諾氏酒店業績的改善。人均支出下降的原因是計劃中的季票價格下降以及在此期間諾氏草莓園的季票訪問量增加。諾特公園人均上限的疲軟被第一季營運有限的其他 4 個公園的人均支出改善所部分抵消。

Moving to the cost front. Operating costs and expenses in the first quarter totaled $215 million, up $25 million compared with the first quarter last year. The period-over-period increase reflects a $15 million increase in SG&A expense, $9 million increase in operating expenses and a $1 million increase in cost of goods sold. The increase in SG&A expense was largely attributable to costs related to the proposed merger with Six Flags. Excluding the merger-related costs, SG&A expense for the quarter increased $5 million, the result of the additional calendar week in the current period and higher spend on technology initiatives.

轉向成本方面。第一季營運成本和費用總計2.15億美元，比去年第一季增加2500萬美元。同比增長反映了 SG&A 費用增加 1500 萬美元、營運費用增加 900 萬美元以及銷售成本增加 100 萬美元。 SG&A 費用的增加主要歸因於與六旗擬議合併相關的成本。不包括合併相關成本，本季的 SG&A 費用增加了 500 萬美元，這是本期日曆週增加以及技術計劃支出增加的結果。

The increase in first quarter operating expenses was entirely due to the additional calendar week, offset in part by a reduction in full-time wages and related benefits. Meanwhile, cost of goods sold as a percentage of food, merchandise and games revenue decreased 250 basis points compared with last year's first quarter. The result of planned initiatives to reduce food and beverage costs.

第一季營運費用的增加完全是由於日曆週的增加，部分被全職薪資和相關福利的減少所抵消。同時，銷售成本佔食品、商品和遊戲收入的百分比與去年第一季相比下降了 250 個基點。降低食品和飲料成本計畫措施的結果。

Shifting our focus for a moment to comparable period operating results on a same-week basis or comparing the 3 months ended March 31, 2024, with the 3 months ended April 2, 2023, net revenues increased 3% or $3 million and attendance was up 10% or 125,000 visits. Meanwhile, out-of-park revenues were up 8% or $2 million and in-park per capita spending was down 8% or $5.39. We're very pleased with the increase in attendance as it was generated over 62 fewer operating days than the same period last year. On a same week basis, first quarter attendance per operating day was up more than 4,500 visits, in part the result of eliminating the smaller attendance days in January and February at our seasonal parks.

將我們的注意力暫時轉移到可比較期間的同周經營業績上，或將截至2024 年3 月31 日的3 個月與截至2023 年4 月2 日的3 個月進行比較，淨收入增加3% ，即300 萬美元，出席人數增加10% 或 125,000 次訪問。同時，公園外收入成長了 8%，即 200 萬美元，而公園內人均支出則下降了 8%，即 5.39 美元。我們對參觀人數的增加感到非常高興，因為與去年同期相比，營業日減少了 62 個多日。以同週計算，第一季每個營業日的參觀人數增加了 4,500 多人次，部分原因是我們季節性公園消除了 1 月和 2 月參觀人數較少的日子。

On a same-week basis, first quarter operating costs and expenses were up $10 million with the increase entirely due to the merger-related costs. Excluding these costs, operating costs and expenses were essentially flat between years despite our parks entertaining 125,000 more guests during the period.

同周相比，第一季營運成本和費用增加了 1000 萬美元，增加的原因完全是合併相關成本。排除這些成本，儘管我們的公園在此期間接待了 125,000 名以上的遊客，但營運成本和支出在幾年間基本持平。

As we discussed in our last earnings call, we remain laser-focused on improving margins by increasing demand and driving operating efficiencies across our portfolio, particularly around variable operating costs such as seasonal labor. During the quarter, we reduced our seasonal labor hours by 3% on a comparable week basis, while at the same time, pushing our average seasonal labor rate down approximately 1%. As more of our parks come online, we will continue to aggressively manage seasonal labor hours and other variable costs as well as look for opportunities to reduce general and administrative overhead costs.

正如我們在上次財報電話會議中所討論的那樣，我們仍然專注於透過增加需求和提高整個投資組合的營運效率來提高利潤率，特別是在季節性勞動力等可變營運成本方面。在本季度，我們將季節性工時以可比周計算減少了 3%，同時將我們的平均季節性勞動力率降低了約 1%。隨著越來越多的公園上線，我們將繼續積極管理季節性工時和其他變動成本，並尋找機會減少一般和管理管理費用。

As evidence of this, our [loan] park with substantial first quarter operations, not Berry farm, was able to improve EBITDA margins on a comparable week basis by more than 200 basis points during the quarter by driving demand levels higher and tightly managing variable costs. Something we are confident can be replicated across the full portfolio going forward.

作為這一點的證據，我們第一季運營量很大的[貸款]公園（而不是貝瑞農場）通過推動需求水平更高和嚴格管理可變成本，能夠在本季度將可比周的EBITDA 利潤率提高200 個基點以上。我們有信心可以在未來的整個產品組合中複製一些東西。

Now turning to the balance sheet. At the end of the first quarter, Cedar Fair's balance sheet remains strong with ample liquidity to fund future cash obligations. Last week, we fully redeemed our 2025 notes using proceeds raised through a new $1 billion term loan, while also securing a new $300 million revolving credit facility, which replaced our former revolver. The transaction execution was excellent, and demand for the loan was significantly oversubscribed, underscoring the market's confidence in Cedar Fair and our management team.

現在轉向資產負債表。在第一季末，Cedar Fair 的資產負債表依然強勁，流動性充足，可以為未來的現金債務提供資金。上週，我們利用透過新的 10 億美元定期貸款籌集的資金全額贖回了 2025 年票據，同時也獲得了新的 3 億美元循環信貸安排，取代了我們以前的循環信貸安排。交易執行非常出色，貸款需求大幅超額認購，凸顯了市場對 Cedar Fair 和我們管理團隊的信心。

Following the financing and subsequent bond redemption, we have no near-term debt maturities. This refinancing was part of a series of financing transactions undertaken by Cedar Fair and Six Flags and anticipation of the merger closing. The steps taken improve Cedar Fair's capital structure flexibility and position the future combined company with sufficient liquidity to address any near-term debt maturities and anticipated fees and obligations associated with closing the merger.

在融資和隨後的債券贖回之後，我們沒有短期債務到期。此次再融資是 Cedar Fair 和六旗遊樂園進行的一系列融資交易以及預期合併完成的一部分。所採取的措施提高了 Cedar Fair 的資本結構靈活性，並使未來合併後的公司擁有充足的流動性，以解決任何近期債務到期問題以及與完成合併相關的預期費用和義務。

At the end of the quarter, Cedar Fair's net debt totaled $2.4 billion, and we had total liquidity of approximately $157 million, including $35 million of cash on hand and $122 million of available borrowings under our revolver. Regarding the use of cash, during the quarter, we spent $57 million on capital investments which was in line with expectations and consistent with our plans to invest between $210 million and $220 million for the full year.

截至本季末，Cedar Fair 的淨債務總額為 24 億美元，我們的流動資金總額約為 1.57 億美元，其中包括 3,500 萬美元的手頭現金和 1.22 億美元的循環貸款。關於現金使用，本季我們在資本投資上花費了 5,700 萬美元，這符合預期，也與我們全年投資 2.1 億至 2.2 億美元的計畫一致。

During the period, we also used $14 million of cash for interest payments, $3 million on payments for income taxes and $15 million on cash distributions to our unitholders. Taking a closer look at our long lead business indicators for a moment. As Richard mentioned, we are very encouraged by the strong start and the solid trends we are seeing within our long lead indicators. This includes positive booking trends within our group sales channel and at our resort properties as well as a record pace for unit sales of season passes and other all-season products. Through the end of the first quarter, sales of season passes on a comparable week basis were up 8% or approximately $15 million, driven by a 17% increase in units sold or an increase of more than 270,000 units. The lift in units sold was partially offset by an 8% decrease in the average season pass price, which was primarily the result of the strategic decision to adjust season pass pricing in a few markets to drive demand, most notably at Knott's Berry Farm, which has our largest season pass base.

在此期間，我們還使用了 1400 萬美元的現金支付利息，300 萬美元的現金支付所得稅，以及 1500 萬美元的現金分配給我們的單位持有人。仔細看看我們的長期領先業務指標。正如理查德所提到的，我們對長期領先指標中看到的強勁開局和堅實趨勢感到非常鼓舞。這包括我們的團體銷售管道和度假村酒店的積極預訂趨勢，以及季票和其他全季產品的單位銷售創紀錄的速度。截至第一季末，季票銷售額按可比周計算增長了 8%，即約 1,500 萬美元，這得益於銷量增長 17% 或增加了 270,000 多份。銷售量的成長被平均季票價格下降 8% 所部分抵消，這主要是由於在一些市場調整季票價格以推動需求的戰略決策的結果，尤其是在納氏莓果園 (Knott's Berry Farm)，擁有我們最大的季票基地。

Meanwhile, total sales of other all-season products through the end of the first quarter were up $13 million or 27% on a comparable week basis, reflecting an increase in units sold and higher average pricing. Driven in large part by the outstanding start to our season pass sales program, our deferred revenue balance at the end of the first quarter totaled $233 million, up approximately 10% compared to the same time last year. Excluding carryover pass benefits during the COA disrupted years, this level of deferred revenues would represent a record for the first quarter. Consistent with our strategy of dynamically pricing when demand trends permit, we've adjusted season pass pricing up since initially launching the program last fall. Most recently, average season pass pricing has trended up mid-single digits, while unit sales have also paced up mid-single digits. Heading into our peak season pass sales cycle, we are optimistic these positive trends, combined with tailwinds in other demand channels such as group bookings and reservations at our resort properties position us well to deliver another outstanding season in 2024.

同時，截至第一季末，其他全季產品的總銷售額與可比周相比增長了 1,300 萬美元，即 27%，反映出銷量的增加和平均價格的上漲。在很大程度上得益於季票銷售計劃的出色開局，我們第一季末的遞延收入餘額總計 2.33 億美元，比去年同期增長約 10%。不包括 COA 中斷年份的結轉通行證福利，這一遞延收入水準將創下第一季的紀錄。與我們在需求趨勢允許時動態定價的策略一致，自去年秋天首次啟動該計劃以來，我們已經調整了季票價格。最近，平均季票價格呈現中個位數上漲趨勢，而單位銷售也呈現中個位數成長。進入我們的旺季通行證銷售週期，我們對這些積極趨勢感到樂觀，再加上團體預訂和度假村酒店預訂等其他需求管道的推動力，使我們能夠在 2024 年再創輝煌。

With that, I'd like to turn the call back over to Richard.

說到這裡，我想把電話轉回理查。

Thanks, Brian. Before we open the call to questions, I'd like to share a couple of additional thoughts. First, as Brian mentioned, our team remains laser-focused on improving margins by driving higher attendance and activating cost-saving measures across the portfolio. These cost-saving efforts are multifaceted However, there's a concentrated effort around labor, given it represents more than half of our overall cost structure. And while we are focused on driving the efficiencies, we are also committed to maintaining appropriate staffing levels and delivering the high-quality experience our guests have come to expect, particularly as attendance levels continue to improve.

謝謝，布萊恩。在我們開始提問之前，我想分享一些額外的想法。首先，正如布萊恩所提到的，我們的團隊仍然專注於透過提高出席率和在整個投資組合中採取成本節約措施來提高利潤。這些節省成本的努力是多方面的。在我們專注於提高效率的同時，我們也致力於維持適當的人員配備水平，並提供客人所期望的高品質體驗，特別是在上座率不斷提高的情況下。

The importance of labor availability and the recruiting process is an area of our business that is often overlooked, it was a hot button issue coming out of the pandemic when labor supply was limited, and we saw a structural shift in labor rates. At the time, we made the strategic decision to increase our rates to market leading to ensure our parks are adequately staffed, so that all our rides are operating and all our revenue centers were open. As attendance has recovered and labor markets have stabilized, we have successfully optimized both seasonal labor rates and seasonal staffing levels, largely due to the decisions we made back in 2020 and '21.

勞動力供應和招募流程的重要性是我們業務中經常被忽視的一個領域，這是疫情期間勞動力供應有限時出現的一個熱門議題，我們看到了勞動力價格的結構性變化。當時，我們做出了戰略決定，提高市場領先率，以確保我們的公園配備足夠的人員，以便我們所有的遊樂設施都能正常運營，所有收入中心都可以開放。隨著出席率的恢復和勞動力市場的穩定，我們成功優化了季節性勞動力率和季節性人員配備水平，這主要歸功於我們在 2020 年和 21 年做出的決定。

And as a result, heading into the 2024 summer season, we are enjoying some of our healthiest staffing levels in years, and we continue to realize seasonal rate efficiencies. Some of those gains are the result of automating our recruiting process, including the addition of an AI chat feature on our career site, which has measurably increased applicant flow and expedited the overall hiring process. Our recruiting and hiring process remains active throughout the season, but we remain cautiously optimistic about the labor outlook given our applicant flow and hiring to date.

因此，在進入 2024 年夏季時，我們將享受多年來最健康的員工配置水平，並且我們將繼續實現季節性效率。其中一些成果是我們招聘流程自動化的結果，包括在我們的求職網站上添加了人工智慧聊天功能，這顯著增加了申請人流量並加快了整個招聘流程。我們的招聘和聘用流程在整個季節仍然活躍，但考慮到迄今為止的申請人流和招聘，我們對勞動力前景保持謹慎樂觀。

And as I hope you can tell from our prepared remarks, I'm as excited as I've ever been for the future growth potential of our business and this industry. Based on our record performance over the second half of 2023 and the momentum we've carried into the start of 2024, we remain optimistic about the health of the consumer and the general strength of our core markets overall. Because operating days are relatively few during the first few months, this period best serves as an early gauge for the season ahead. It is also the one time of year we can clearly see the tangible results of our long-term vision at play. The years of decisions that now fill our parks reinforce how we got here, respect for a culture that remains steadfast in dreaming big, planning smart and executing with precision.

正如我希望您能從我們準備好的演講中看出的那樣，我對我們的業務和這個行業的未來成長潛力一如既往地感到興奮。基於我們在 2023 年下半年創紀錄的業績以及我們在 2024 年初所保持的勢頭，我們對消費者的健康狀況和核心市場的整體實力仍然持樂觀態度。由於前幾個月的營運天數相對較少，因此這段時期最好作為未來季節的早期衡量標準。這也是一年中我們可以清楚地看到我們的長期願景所取得的實際成果的一個時候。多年來我們公園裡的決策強化了我們取得今天成就的方式，尊重堅定不移地夢想、明智規劃和精確執行的文化。

For decades, this time-tested and successful approach to building our business has delivered results, and we are confident that we remain on the right path to drive long-term profitable growth regardless of market conditions. We have built a strong team of professionals who continue to excel and deliver against any challenge thrown their way. We are fortunate to have a high-quality business model we can rely on. One that produces free cash flow year after year to reinvest in the breadth and quality of our entertainment product that consumers have come to love and appreciate. We know this because season after season, our loyal guests continue to purchase their day tickets and their season passes and frequently return to our parks, demonstrating a recognition of the strong value we offer in family entertainment.

幾十年來，這種經過時間考驗且成功的業務建設方法已經取得了成果，我們相信，無論市場狀況如何，我們都將繼續走在推動長期獲利成長的正確道路上。我們建立了一支強大的專業團隊，他們不斷表現出色，並應對我們遇到的任何挑戰。我們很幸運擁有值得信賴的高品質商業模式。年復一年地產生自由現金流，以對消費者喜愛和欣賞的娛樂產品的廣度和品質進行再投資。我們知道這一點，因為我們的忠實客人一季又一季地繼續購買日票和季票，並經常返回我們的公園，這表明了對我們在家庭娛樂方面提供的強大價值的認可。

As a reminder, we have no further updates on the merger beyond what I shared at the beginning of the call today. We ask that you keep your questions focused on our first quarter performance and our results.

提醒一下，除了我在今天電話會議開始時分享的內容之外，我們沒有關於合併的進一步更新。我們要求您將問題集中在我們第一季的業績和結果上。

Gavin, that's the end of our prepared remarks. We'll open the call for questions.

加文，我們準備好的發言就到此結束。我們將開始提問。

(Operator Instructions). Your first question comes from the line of Steve Wieczynski from Stifel.

（操作員說明）。您的第一個問題來自 Stifel 的 Steve Wieczynski。

So Brian, can we think about costs for a second. If we look at your combined operating expenses, SG&A in the quarter, you take out the merger cost, they came in around, I think it was $193 million. So I don't think if we want to compare those to last year given the weather that you guys encountered. But if we went back and looked at, let's say, 2022, I think those expenses were maybe around $160 million. So that's up almost 20% over a 2-year period. And look, I fully get the inflationary environment, I understand the labor environment. But I guess what I'm trying to understand is maybe how we should think about cost growth? Or is there anything one-off that I'm kind of missing that is driving those costs a little bit higher than what we would have thought outside of labor and inflation?

布萊恩，我們可以考慮一下成本嗎？如果我們看一下本季的綜合營運費用、SG&A，去掉合併成本，我認為是 1.93 億美元。因此，考慮到你們遇到的天氣，我認為我們不想將這些與去年進行比較。但如果我們回顧一下，比如說 2022 年，我認為這些費用可能約為 1.6 億美元。兩年內成長了近 20%。看，我完全了解通貨膨脹環境，我了解勞動環境。但我想我想了解的是我們應該如何考慮成本成長？或者有沒有什麼我錯過的一次性因素導致這些成本比我們在勞動力和通貨膨脹之外想像的要高一些？

Yes, Steve. So I think when you look at costs year-over-year, there are always differences. Some of the timing, others of them, as you noted, related to inflationary pressure. As we think about cost for 2024, our inflationary outlook is certainly better than it's been the last several years. While there's still some individual channels where the broader market is seeing pressure, things like insurance, property taxes, those are smaller dollar items in our overall cost structure. I think what we're most focused on are those are tightly managing those variable costs, as we noted on the call, most directly seasonal labor and very pleased with what we've accomplished so far in the early going this year. But also I have to look back to last year when we were very effective in taking both hours out of the system, but keeping rates flat.

是的，史蒂夫。因此，我認為當你逐年查看成本時，總是會發現差異。正如您所指出的，其中一些時機與通膨壓力有關。當我們考慮 2024 年的成本時，我們的通膨前景肯定比過去幾年要好。雖然更廣泛的市場仍然面臨一些個別管道的壓力，但保險、財產稅等在我們的整體成本結構中都是較小的項目。我認為我們最關注的是那些嚴格管理這些可變成本的人，正如我們在電話中指出的那樣，最直接的季節性勞動力，並對我們今年年初迄今為止所取得的成就感到非常滿意。但我還必須回顧去年，當時我們非常有效地從系統中取消了這兩個小時，但保持費率不變。

So as we look at the year ahead, we continue to see opportunities to mine more cost out of the system on the variable side. We will always look for ways to find more efficiencies in the overhead and general administrative costs, but feel very good about where things are pacing at this point.

因此，當我們展望未來一年時，我們繼續看到從變數方面從系統中挖掘更多成本的機會。我們將始終尋找方法來提高管理費用和一般管理成本的效率，但對目前的進展感到非常滿意。

Okay. And then second question, you guys talked about -- obviously your season pass sales look -- are pretty impressive so far this year. But you obviously made a decision to lower pricing at Knott's. And I guess I'm just trying to understand maybe why that market? Is the -- the Southern California market, is it so sensitive right now to price increases? Or are there other entertainment options -- other entertainment options out there that might be taking share from you and other parks from this? I'm just trying to understand that why just that market.

好的。然後，你們談到的第二個問題——顯然你們的季票銷售情況——今年到目前為止相當令人印象深刻。但您顯然決定降低納氏的定價。我想我只是想了解為什麼會出現這個市場？南加州市場現在對價格上漲如此敏感嗎？或者還有其他的娛樂選擇——其他的娛樂選擇可能會從你和其他公園奪取份額嗎？我只是想理解為什麼只有那個市場。

Steve, it's Richard. Appreciate the question. When we think of any particular market, we want to get off to a fast start. We compete in the out-of-home entertainment market for all consumers discretionary time in dollars and nowhere is that more parent in Southern California, where there's lots of options for the consumer. We talked about this last year. We saw a bit of weakness in the first half of last year, not just economic weakness, not just because of weather, but California was not firing on all cylinders in the first half of the year. We just started to see that turn going into the fall. But as we've said before, and Brian reiterated in his marks, dynamic pricing swings both ways. We wanted to make sure that we got off to a strong start and then we would take pricing as we built into the demand.

史蒂夫，我是理查。感謝這個問題。當我們想到任何特定市場時，我們都希望能夠快速啟動。我們在戶外娛樂市場上爭取所有消費者的自由支配時間（以美元計算），而南加州是最受家長歡迎的地方，那裡為消費者提供了許多選擇。我們去年就討論過這個問題。去年上半年我們看到了一些疲軟，不僅是經濟疲軟，不僅是因為天氣，而是加州在今年上半年並沒有開足馬力。我們剛開始看到這種轉變進入秋天。但正如我們之前所說的，布萊恩在他的評論中重申，動態定價是雙向波動的。我們希望確保我們有一個良好的開端，然後我們會根據需求進行定價。

I'll take you back to Brian's remarks that for the last -- most recently for the last few weeks, we're up mid-single digits across the portfolio in unit sales and mid-single digit in price. So we've built a healthy base. The deferred revenue balance is stronger than I've ever seen it, and I'm really encouraged by what that means. But we continue to see, as we open up our parks, strong demand for season passes even at these price points were up over last year.

我將帶您回顧布萊恩的言論，即在過去幾週內，我們整個產品組合的銷售和價格均實現了中個位數的增長。所以我們已經建立了一個健康的基礎。遞延收入餘額比我見過的都要強勁，這意味著我真的很受鼓舞。但我們繼續看到，隨著我們開放公園，即使在這些價格點上，對季票的強勁需求也比去年增加。

So we sell about half of our season pass sales between 45% and 50% in the spring period. And at these prices, I think we'll be really pleased with both the revenue that generates from that, but most importantly, the attendance that really helps drive margin. We talked about Knott's being up 200 basis points in margin in the first quarter. I think as Brian said, we can see that -- that linkage to higher attendance throughout the portfolio, driving margin expansion, both in the short term and the long term.

因此，我們的季票銷量中約有一半是在春季銷售的，其中 45% 至 50% 之間。按照這些價格，我認為我們會對由此產生的收入感到非常滿意，但最重要的是，真正有助於提高利潤的出席率。我們談到 Knott 第一季的利潤率成長了 200 個基點。我認為正如布萊恩所說，我們可以看到——整個投資組合中更高的出席率之間的聯繫，推動了短期和長期利潤率的擴張。

Your next question comes from line of James Hardiman from Citi.

您的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的 James Hardiman。

So a couple of points of clarification here. You gave us the numbers on a, sort of, a comparable calendar basis, maybe solving for the extra week that you had. But there's really no discussion of the Easter shift and the fact that, that fell in 1Q this year as opposed to 2Q last year. Your peers called out that as a pretty meaningful 1Q benefit. It doesn't sound like you think that was a big deal for your business. Really just trying to understand maybe more than anything, how to think about second quarter headwinds. I guess, conversely, what can you tell us about the month of April or sort of the year-to-date trend in terms of attendance.

這裡需要澄清幾點。你給了我們一些類似日曆的數字，也許可以解決你多花一週的時間。但實際上沒有討論復活節的轉變以及今年第一季的復活節變化而不是去年第二季的事實。您的同業稱這是一個非常有意義的第一季收益。聽起來您並不認為這對您的業務有什麼大不了的。其實只是想了解，也許最重要的是，如何思考第二季的不利因素。相反，我想您能告訴我們有關四月份的情況或今年迄今為止的出勤率趨勢嗎？

Yes, James, it's Brian. So as it relates to Easter, and I think this may be where different park openings play into the impact. The shift in Easter really for us with not being open daily and that really being our only park with any meaningful operations, right? In the first quarter, Knott's would have represented close to 3/4 of our operating days. So that -- the timing of Easter, not as big of an impact for us. More so what we would say for Knott's is their Boysenberry Festival, which the timing of that is probably more comparable to where it was last year. We're going to see continued strength out of Boysenberry in the second quarter like we did last year. So Eastern not so much of an impact for at least at a material level worth mentioning.

是的，詹姆斯，我是布萊恩。因此，由於它與復活節有關，我認為這可能是不同公園開放產生影響的地方。復活節的轉變確實對我們來說不是每天開放，而且這確實是我們唯一有任何有意義的運營的公園，對吧？在第一季度，Knott's 占我們營業日的近 3/4。因此，復活節的時間對我們影響不大。更重要的是，我們要說的納氏啤酒節是他們的博伊森莓節，時間安排可能與去年更相似。我們將看到博伊森伯里在第二季度繼續保持強勢，就像去年一樣。因此，東方至少在物質層面上沒有太大的影響值得一提。

Got it. And similarly, as I think about the second quarter, then you don't see it being a meaningful impact.

知道了。同樣，當我想到第二季時，你不會認為它會產生有意義的影響。

No. And I said we haven't provided any specific numbers, but I can tell you just at a high level, the general trends. As Richard just noted, whether you're looking at continued strength in advanced purchase products like season passes and the other all-season products. That continues to trend well in April. Broadly speaking, the -- having some of our parks start to open here more recently. Most notably, Richard mentioned to your point, the energy has been strong, and the general environment has been good. I'd say the trends that we saw in the first quarter, which I think we -- as we -- in our prepared remarks, noted, very pleased with continue into the month of April.

不。正如理查德剛剛指出的，無論您是否正在尋找季票和其他全季產品等高級購買產品的持續強勢。四月這種趨勢持續良好。從廣義上講，我們的一些公園最近開始在這裡開放。最值得注意的是，理查提到你的觀點，能量一直很強，大環境也很好。我想說的是我們在第一季看到的趨勢，我認為我們——正如我們——在我們準備好的演講中指出的那樣，非常高興地繼續到四月。

James, I'll piggyback on what Brian said, let me jump in here. we had parks in the month of April, punching through 30,000 getting to healthy attendance levels on Saturdays that they opened up with good weather. We're seeing extremely strong demand. We always say this to you guys when the weather is good, that's our barometer. We've got parks doing over 30,000 on a Saturday in April. That usually shapes up to be a strong spring and a good year.

詹姆斯，我會借鏡布萊恩所說的話，讓我跳到這裡。我們四月份的公園數量突破了 30,000 人，週六在天氣好的情況下開放，遊客數量達到了健康的水平。我們看到需求極為強勁。天氣好的時候，我們總是對你們說這句話，那就是我們的晴雨表。我們的公園在 4 月的一個星期六接待了超過 30,000 名遊客。這通常會帶來一個強勁的春天和美好的一年。

Got it. And then maybe asking Steve's question in a different way. As I think about operating expenses in the first quarter, I guess in the context of -- you had a pretty significant decrease in operating days. And so I guess if we were to look at this in terms of OpEx per operating day, that's up almost 50%. Now attendance for operating day is up even more than that. So maybe the operating day metrics are just kind of nonsensical in the first quarter. I'm sure the answer has a lot to do with which parts they open versus which park you sort of scale back on.

知道了。然後也許可以用不同的方式問史蒂夫的問題。當我考慮第一季的營運費用時，我想在這樣的背景下——營運天數顯著減少。因此，我想如果我們以每個營業日的營運支出來衡量，就會發現成長了近 50%。現在，手術日的出席率甚至更高。因此，也許第一季的營業日指標有點荒謬。我確信答案與他們開放哪些部分以及您縮減哪些公園有很大關係。

But maybe help us think about OpEx in the context of that, you talked about taking out the lower-value, higher-risk operating days in the quarter from Carowinds, Kings Dominion, Great America. Maybe why didn't that affect the cost side of the business as much and if there's any takeaway as we think about rolling that through to the rest of the year?

但也許可以幫助我們在這樣的背景下思考營運支出，您談到了從 Carowinds、Kings Dominion、Great America 中剔除本季價值較低、風險較高的營運天數。也許這對業務成本的影響沒有那麼大，如果我們考慮將其延續到今年剩餘時間，是否有任何收穫？

Yes, James, all good questions. And I think your point is spot on that a metric like operating cost per day or revenue attendance per day. Those can be pretty misleading and get skewed pretty quickly early in these smaller bite size looks, right? It's just a law of small numbers. And so I think that one's a hard one to look at it through that lens. What I -- I'll try it for you this way, when you compare to last year and the first thing I would say is that the majority of our parks are -- aren't in operation in the first quarter, as we said in our prepared remarks. And where we're operating or those parks are carrying off-season maintenance and staffing levels that are about as skinny as they can get without putting at risk the ability to be prepared to open in the spring, all right? So a lot of the costs that we're incurring those and we'll call it, sort of that fixed off-season base is about as skinny as it can get in order to get all your of season work on your rides repaired and all the maintenance work done so that you're ready to open in April and early May.

是的，詹姆斯，所有的問題都很好。我認為你的觀點很準確，例如每天的營運成本或每天的收入出席率。這些可能會產生很大的誤導，並且在這些較小的尺寸外觀中很快就會被扭曲，對嗎？這只是小數法則。所以我認為很難從這個角度來看待它。我會用這種方式為你嘗試一下，當你與去年相比時，我要說的第一件事是，正如我們所說，我們的大多數公園在第一季都沒有投入運營在我們準備好的發言中。我們正在運作的地方或那些正在進行淡季維護和人員配置的公園，在不危及春季開放準備能力的情況下，盡可能減少人員配備，好嗎？因此，我們承擔的許多成本，我們稱之為固定的淡季基礎，是盡可能精簡的，以便讓您的遊樂設施的所有淡季工作得到修復，並且所有維護工作已完成，以便您可以在四月和五月初開業。

So not much that you can cut from parks like Cedar Point and Kings Island, Canada's Wonderland to name a few, while you're waiting to get open. When you look at the parts that did have operations, Knott's Berry Farm, last year, we were successful in taking a lot of variable cost out of the system for all the wrong reasons, right? Tenants was disrupted because of the extreme bad weather that we saw in Southern California, we were closed 12 days last year in the first quarter at Knott's versus 5 this year. So there are puts and going back both ways. I can tell you what I'd step back to is, as we said, if you strip out the merger-related costs, Operating costs and expenses were essentially flat on a comparable week basis. And that's while still entertaining 125,000 more visits, there's a certain level of variable costs that come with that incremental visitation, especially if you're trying to defer the kind of guest experience that our guests demand.

因此，在等待開放期間，您可以從雪松角 (Cedar Point) 和國王島 (Kings Island)（加拿大仙境）等公園出發，遊覽的東西並不多。當你看看去年確實運作的部分（諾氏漿果農場）時，我們成功地將大量可變成本從系統中剔除，原因全都是錯誤的，對嗎？由於南加州極端惡劣的天氣，租戶受到干擾，去年第一季 Knott’s 關閉了 12 天，而今年則關閉了 5 天。因此，有雙向看跌期權和反向期權。我可以告訴你，正如我們所說，如果剔除與合併相關的成本，營運成本和費用在可比周的基礎上基本持平。雖然仍然可以接待 125,000 多的訪問量，但增量訪問量會帶來一定程度的可變成本，特別是如果您試圖推遲客人所要求的客人體驗。

And so we're very pleased with where we're at. More opportunity as we saw last year when you get into the latter half of the second quarter and into the third quarter, get more aggressive on taking costs out of the system because that's where the majority of the variables cost lie.

因此，我們對目前的狀況非常滿意。正如我們去年看到的更多機會，當你進入第二季後半段和第三季時，會更積極地從系統中剔除成本，因為這是大部分變動成本所在。

Your next question comes from the line of Ian Zaffino of Oppenheimer.

你的下一個問題來自奧本海默的伊恩·扎菲諾（Ian Zaffino）。

Great commentary on the group demand side. Can you maybe tell us what's driving that? And I guess, Six Flags has kind of commented similarly to the strength in group, but they also kind of pointed to some of the internal changes they've done with staffing as a way to drive that, but I guess now you guys are saying something similar. So maybe if I could just tell us what you're seeing there, any comment that you could give us.

對團體需求方面的精彩評論。您能告訴我們是什麼推動了這個趨勢嗎？我想，六旗的評論與集團的實力類似，但他們也指出了他們在人員配置方面所做的一些內部變革，作為推動這一目標的一種方式，但我想現在你們是在說相似的東西。因此，也許我可以告訴我們您在那裡看到了什麼，以及您可以給我們的任何評論。

Yes, Ian, great question. We've always said that the group channel is the first to be disrupted when there's a slowdown. We saw that in '08, '09. We certainly saw that through the pandemic. We've also said it's the first -- it's a longer lead to come back and usually that takes 2 or 3 years. I will tell you what we're -- I'll separate down into youth groups versus corporate and youth -- a lot of the youth group business comes in the spring. We're extremely strong and trending back towards 2019 levels, if not going to surpass 2019 levels through the youth channels. So we're seeing our parks on a Thursday, Friday, particularly here like in Charlotte and other places, filled with buses in the parking lot, which is really good to see.

是的，伊恩，好問題。我們總是說，當速度放緩時，團體頻道是第一個受到干擾的。我們在 08、09 年就看到了這一點。我們確實透過大流行看到了這一點。我們也說過，這是第一次——需要更長的時間才能回來，通常需要 2 到 3 年。我會告訴你我們是什麼——我將分為青年團體與企業和青年——很多青年團體業務都在春季進行。我們非常強大，並且有回歸 2019 年水準的趨勢，即使不會透過青年頻道超越 2019 年水準。所以我們會在星期四、星期五看到我們的公園，特別是像夏洛特和其他地方一樣，停車場裡停滿了巴士，這真的很值得一看。

So our used business, extremely strong. That was disrupted to the pandemic. A lot of schools were remote learning off and on, a lot of schools didn't want their kids take day trips. They're all back and forth now. But the real strength that we're seeing in corporate also says that companies are looking for ways to take care of their customers, their -- not just their customers, but their associates. And when we look at that channel, that tracking very closely to what we saw in the recovery from '08 to '09 into '10, '11, '12 and that 3-year cycle of recovery. Budgets are put back in the company side, they're looking to take care of their employees. So we're seeing that. So I think the strength of our offering, the fact that a lot of companies are looking to get their employees together if they're all working in the same location or if they're remote.

所以我們的二手業務非常強勁。這被大流行打亂了。許多學校斷斷續續地進行遠距學習，許多學校不希望他們的孩子進行一日遊。他們現在都來回了。但我們在企業中看到的真正實力也表明，企業正在尋找方法來照顧他們的客戶，他們的——不僅僅是他們的客戶，還有他們的員工。當我們觀察該管道時，它與我們從 08 年到 09 年的復甦到 10 年、11 年、12 年以及 3 年復甦週期中看到的情況非常接近。預算又放回公司這邊，他們希望照顧員工。所以我們看到了這一點。因此，我認為我們產品的優勢在於，事實上，如果員工都在同一個地點或遠距工作，許多公司都希望將他們的員工聚集在一起。

I think we offer a unique product as do others in the industry where we can get people together and let them spend the day together networking and having fun. So I think strength on both of those 2 channels, which what we would call our rep-driven business, we haven't made any internal changes, but we are supporting it more and more with our CRM system and building a more robust prospecting and leading system. So we are investing in technology and other ways to drive that lead sourcing and that's been paying off for us.

我認為我們和業內其他公司一樣提供了一種獨特的產品，我們可以將人們聚集在一起，讓他們一起度過一天的網絡和樂趣。因此，我認為這兩個管道的實力，我們稱之為代表驅動型業務，我們沒有進行任何內部變革，但我們透過CRM 系統越來越多地支持它，並建立了更強大的勘探和開發團隊。因此，我們正在投資技術和其他方式來推動潛在客戶的採購，這為我們帶來了回報。

(Operator Instructions). And your next question comes from the line of Chris Woronka from Deutsche Bank.

（操作員說明）。您的下一個問題來自德意志銀行的 Chris Woronka。

So with the strategy to kind of reduce the operating days and hours, I guess, what kind of learnings do you take away from that? I know it's impossible to know what you would have had because by definition, if you were closed. But do you look to -- do you think as we look out and even maybe adjusting during the season, I know you're going to be running pretty full for peak season, but looking to the fall and even into next spring, do you think you do more hourly or daily adjustments? Or are you happy with how things ended up?

因此，透過減少營運天數和時間的策略，我想，您從中學到了什麼？我知道不可能知道你會擁有什麼，因為根據定義，如果你關閉了。但是你是否認為，當我們展望甚至可能在賽季期間進行調整時，我知道你會在旺季期間運行得相當滿，但展望秋季，甚至明年春季，你會嗎？多調整嗎？或者你對事情的結局感到滿意嗎？

Chris, good question. As we look back, just remember, last year was the first year we were opened in January and February in some of our Southern markets. We really want to see what the market would give us. And we went through an off-season evaluation and decided to pull those days because while we got response from the market, you had highlighted some of the challenges, weather being one, clearly, we knew that. But we wanted to see how far we could push it. We're always saying, if you're not testing, you're not learning. So we looked at that test and pulled those hours and days back. I think we've got the general profile of -- when we look at the operating calendar, what are spring is going to look like. We're always looking to add days where there is demand. So we're not shy about insert in a day, for instance, in use groups, if we fill up a Thursday, we'll open up on a Wednesday, and we'll make sure that we capture the demand.

克里斯，好問題。當我們回顧過去時，請記住，去年是我們在一月和二月在一些南方市場開業的第一年。我們真的很想看看市場會為我們帶來什麼。我們進行了淡季評估，並決定取消這些日子，因為雖然我們得到了市場的回應，但您強調了一些挑戰，天氣就是其中之一，顯然，我們知道這一點。但我們想看看我們能把它推到什麼程度。我們總是說，如果你不測試，你就沒有學習。因此，我們查看了該測試，並將這些時間和日期拉回來。我認為我們已經大致了解了——當我們查看營運日曆時，春天會是什麼樣子。我們一直在尋求增加有需求的日子。因此，我們並不羞於在一天內插入，例如，在使用群組中，如果我們週四填滿，我們將在周三開放，我們將確保捕獲需求。

But from a planning perspective, as we're going through this year, we're always building next year, and we're taking away the lessons from it. So -- by the time we get to early summer, we'll look at our spring calendar and make sure that we get the operating plan for the spring next year. I wouldn't see major changes. I think this profile seems to kind of work for us. We may add a weekend here or there. But from a profile, I think we're comfortable with where we're at right now.

但從規劃的角度來看，當我們經歷今年時，我們總是在明年進行建設，並從中學習。因此，到初夏時，我們將查看春季日曆，並確保明年春季的營運計劃。我不會看到重大變化。我認為這個配置文件似乎對我們有用。我們可能會在這裡或那裡添加一個週末。但從個人資料來看，我認為我們對目前的處境感到滿意。

Okay. Appreciate that, Richard. And then next question is kind of open ended, I guess. But you and some of your peers have talked about a lot of revenue generation opportunities through the app with push offers and things like that. Is there any way to kind of size that up, if not with a number, maybe a magnitude. I mean how much do you think you've done versus how much more there is to go on kind of that instant revenue gratification?

好的。很欣賞這一點，理查德。我想下一個問題是開放式的。但您和您的一些同行已經討論過透過該應用程式透過推送優惠等方式創造收入的機會。有沒有什麼方法可以衡量它的大小，如果不是用數字，也許是一個大小。我的意思是，你認為自己已經做了多少，為了即時的收入滿足還需要付出多少？

So I'll let Brian weigh in here in a second. But as we think about any of those types of programs. First, I would say we, like others, are firm believers in a loyalty program and making sure that we engage our customers within that digital footprint. So I think that when you think about your most valuable customers, the season pass holder, we spend the most time with them. So we want to push that out. But when you look at a program, and I'll take you back almost 10 years, I think we sold our first all-season dining in 2015 and followed others in the industry, Six Flags as well. We've seen penetration levels on that increase year after year. So clearly, we're in the very early innings. But what's encouraging is once you build that customer behavior and they use the app and they start reacting to the push offers and all those types of things. That's a program that no matter where you start, we'll continue to grow year-over-year. Brian?

所以我稍後會讓布賴恩在這裡權衡一下。但當我們考慮任何這些類型的計劃時。首先，我想說，我們和其他人一樣，堅信忠誠度計劃，並確保我們在數位足跡中吸引客戶。所以我認為，當你考慮到你最有價值的客戶（季票持有者）時，我們花在他們身上的時間最多。所以我們想把它推出去。但當你看一個項目時，我會讓你回到近 10 年前，我認為我們在 2015 年出售了我們的第一家全季餐廳，並效仿了業內其他公司，包括六旗主題公園。我們看到滲透率逐年上升。很明顯，我們正處於早期階段。但令人鼓舞的是，一旦你建立了客戶行為，他們使用該應用程序，他們就開始對推播優惠和所有這些類型的事情做出反應。這個計劃無論從哪裡開始，我們都將繼續逐年成長。布萊恩？

Yes. Chris, just adding to Richard's comments. I would echo still in the very early innings. Our view of the app as a component of our digital transformation efforts at the park are about, as we said in our prepared remarks, about enhancing efficiencies, eliminating pain points for the guests which ultimately will over time translate into incremental revenue generation. I think from our perspective, the goal is always to try and push those per caps up in that 3%, 4% range over the long term. If we can do that, that's a healthy business model. This is just another tool in our tool belt for getting there. As we look, for us, you've heard us talk about it. It's less about just going out and boldly taking pricing in the parts. We don't believe we have that kind of pricing power. It's more about efficiencies and driving more transactions per guest and driving higher transaction values. And we think that the app along with some of the other digital initiatives that we have in place can help achieve that.

是的。克里斯，只是補充理查德的評論。我仍然會在很早的幾局中回應。正如我們在準備好的演講中所說，我們認為該應用程式是公園數位轉型工作的一部分，旨在提高效率，消除遊客的痛點，最終將隨著時間的推移轉化為增量收入。我認為從我們的角度來看，我們的目標始終是嘗試將人均上限長期提高到 3%、4% 的範圍內。如果我們能做到這一點，那就是一個健康的商業模式。這只是我們實現這一目標的工具帶中的另一個工具。當我們觀察時，對於我們來說，您已經聽到我們談論它。這不僅僅是走出去並大膽地對零件進行定價。我們不相信我們有這樣的定價能力。它更多的是關於效率、推動每位客人的更多交易以及更高的交易價值。我們認為該應用程式以及我們現有的一些其他數位舉措可以幫助實現這一目標。

Your next question comes from the line of Lizzie Dove of Goldman Sachs.

你的下一個問題來自高盛的 Lizzie Dove。

I know the decline in admissions per cap this quarter and last was mostly due to the California reset. And that's obviously, as you mentioned, the majority of 1Q. But as that becomes a less important piece in our other parks open, can you help us kind of think about how to think about the pacing of admissions per cap for the rest of the year?

我知道本季和上一季的人均入學人數下降主要是由於加州的重置所致。正如您所提到的，這顯然是第一季的大部分。但隨著這在我們開放的其他公園中變得不那麼重要，您能否幫助我們思考如何考慮今年剩餘時間的人均入場節奏？

Yes. Lizzie, it's Brian. So yes, I would reiterate, as you just noted that the first quarter numbers are so heavily skewed by Knott's. As I mentioned earlier, represents close to 3/4 of our operating days and honestly, probably closer to 85% of the attendance. So it's having an outsized impact when you look at this truncated window. If I carve Knott's out for a second and just look at albeit a small sample size, so I'll caveat my comment that way. We're seeing what we want to see out of the other parks that have started to kick off the per capita spending is solid. It's in that 3% to 4% range and in line with up 3% to 4%. And in line with our expectations in the early going. Will there be pressure on admissions per cap over the balance of the year? I think as long as we continue to see growth in some of those lower per cap channels like season pass like group there is going to be pressure on admissions per cap.

是的。莉齊，這是布萊恩。所以，是的，我想重申一下，正如您剛才指出的那樣，第一季的數據受到諾特的嚴重影響。正如我之前提到的，這佔了我們營業日的近 3/4，老實說，可能接近 85% 的出席率。所以當你看到這個被截斷的視窗時，它會產生巨大的影響。如果我把諾特的研究放在一邊，只看一下樣本量，儘管樣本量很小，所以我會這樣警告我的評論。我們從其他已開始啟動人均支出的公園中看到了我們希望看到的情況。它在 3% 到 4% 的範圍內，並且與 3% 到 4% 的上漲一致。並且符合我們早期的預期。今年剩下的時間裡，人均招生會面臨壓力嗎？我認為，只要我們繼續看到一些人均限額較低的管道（例如季票之類的團體）的成長，人均入場人數就會面臨壓力。

The ultimate answer to your question, though, Lizzie, will depend on the mix, where does the mix of each of those channels ultimately play out as well as where does the mix of the park performance play out. But as we're seeing at Knott's even aware the price adjustments we did make have had a impact on that parts per cap. It's had the intended result as we noted with the attendance lift and most importantly, the revenue lift. So in the early going through the first quarter, Knott's -- our revenues are up double digits which is really what's most important. Per cap is a key metric for us. But at the end of the day, it's about revenue. And so our focus is drive volume, drive revenue growth and the per cap is going to be a little bit of what washes out on the backside.

不過，Lizzie，你問題的最終答案將取決於混合，每個頻道的混合最終在哪裡發揮作用，以及公園表演的混合在哪裡發揮作用。但正如我們在 Knott's 所看到的那樣，我們甚至意識到我們所做的價格調整對每個上限產生了影響。正如我們所注意到的，它達到了預期的結果，即觀眾人數的增加，最重要的是收入的增加。因此，在第一季初期，諾特的營收成長了兩位數，這確實是最重要的。每人上限是我們的關鍵指標。但歸根結底，這與收入有關。因此，我們的重點是推動銷售、推動收入成長，而人均上限將是背面被沖走的一點點。

That's helpful. And then I guess on the other impact side of things, like the trends there kind of improved nicely this quarter. Any kind of read you can give on what you're seeing from the consumer or changes to food and beverage spend or merchandise, [fast pass], anything like that would be great just to kind of get a pulse check there.

這很有幫助。然後我想在事情的另一個影響方面，例如本季趨勢有很好的改善。您可以對您從消費者那裡看到的情況或食品和飲料支出或商品的變化進行任何類型的閱讀，[快速通行證]，類似的任何內容都可以很好地了解脈搏。

Yes. Lizzie, if I think about the month of April and what we've been seeing continued healthy increases in food and beverage leading the way, increased extra charge, premium offering, revenue and per cap as well, part of that. And we're just getting to where we've opened now Cedar Point, which with Top Thrill 2, we think the premium offerings there, most notably Fast Lane and the holiday Fast Lane and the single-use Fast Lane will be a nice lift year-over-year. So we continue to see strength in the consumer spending once they get in the park as Brian said, part of that is we've built a lot of engines that will drive transaction capacity and we continue to listen to what the customers value and try and provide that and premium offerings sitting on top of a healthy attendance space seem to drive a really strong revenue growth, and that's what we're focused on.

是的。 Lizzie，如果我想想四月份，我們看到食品和飲料的持續健康成長，額外費用、溢價產品、收入和人均限額的增加，都是其中的一部分。我們剛剛到達現在開設的 Cedar Point 地點，這裡有 Top Thrill 2，我們認為那裡的優質服務，尤其是 Fast Lane 和假日 Fast Lane 以及一次性 Fast Lane 將是一個很好的提升一年又一年。因此，正如布萊恩所說，一旦消費者進入公園，我們就會繼續看到他們的支出強勁，部分原因是我們已經建立了許多引擎來推動交易能力，我們將繼續傾聽客戶的價值並嘗試和提供這一點以及在健康的出席空間之上提供的優質產品似乎可以推動真正強勁的收入成長，這就是我們所關注的。

Your next question comes from the line of Thomas Yeh of Morgan Stanley.

你的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 Thomas Yeh。

Richard, I wanted to follow up on your comments about the healthy staffing level and setting industry-leading wage rates. In light of some of the minimum wage increases that we've kind of seen in certain areas of your footprint, do you see the need to react to that? What does that kind of do to the broader wage market?

理查德，我想跟進您對健康的員工水平和設定行業領先的工資水平的評論。鑑於我們在你們足跡的某些領域看到了一些最低工資的上漲，您認為有必要對此做出反應嗎？這對更廣泛的工資市場有何影響？

Well, we always -- good question, Thomas. We always look at the scheduled increase of minimum wage to factor those into our plan. But as you saw last year where we managed down the seasonal wage rate in this year where we've managed to both take hours and manage the rate down. We think we've got a lot of tools to be able to continue to manage through that. So I think our workforce management team has done an incredible job working with our operators at the parks. And we are getting really a lot more efficient. And we're looking at making sure that while the rides are open and operating, the revenue centers are open, how we staff the park in general, that we'll continue to take advantage of the regional differences in the labor markets, and it is very different market by market.

嗯，我們總是──問得好，湯瑪斯。我們始終關注最低工資的預定成長，並將其納入我們的計劃中。但正如你去年看到的那樣，我們今年降低了季節性工資，這既減少了工作時間，又控制了工資水平。我們認為我們有很多工具可以繼續管理這個問題。因此，我認為我們的勞動力管理團隊與公園營運商的合作做得非常出色。我們的效率確實提高了很多。我們正在考慮確保在遊樂設施開放和運營的同時，收入中心也開放，我們如何為公園配備員工，我們將繼續利用勞動力市場的區域差異，並且不同的市場有很大不同。

But we think that we have an ability to keep driving that rate slightly lower while we have the hours we need to make sure we can service the higher levels of attendance that we're seeing.

但我們認為，我們有能力繼續稍微降低這個比率，同時我們有足夠的時間來確保我們能夠為我們所看到的更高水準的出勤率提供服務。

I see. That's helpful. And then just another one on the digital transformation opportunities. You laid out some pretty exciting initiatives. Is there maybe a way to think about within the $210 million to $220 million CapEx guidance how much is maintenance and how much is growth? And how should we think about kind of ROI on the growth piece and how that kind of shapes out over time?

我懂了。這很有幫助。然後是關於數位轉型機會的另一篇文章。您提出了一些非常令人興奮的舉措。是否有辦法考慮在 2.1 億至 2.2 億美元的資本支出指導範圍內，多少是維護，多少是成長？我們應該如何考慮成長部分的投資報酬率以及隨著時間的推移，投資報酬率會如何改變？

Yes, Thomas, it's Brian. So within those capital programs, ideally, we would usually like to see somewhere approaching 60% to 70% of that spend beyond what we would consider either marketable or ROI driving projects, projects that either drive attendance and urgency to visit like Top Thrill 2 or Iron Menace at Dorney Park or guest spending through investments in things like new mobile app, expanded or improved food and beverage offerings, et cetera. So the balance of spend then is really on more of your infrastructure type of projects, the things that are really important that people don't often pay attention to until they're not working. So things like a WiFi platform, thing like the roadways and the parking lots, restrooms, et cetera.

是的，湯瑪斯，是布萊恩。因此，在這些資本計劃中，理想情況下，我們通常希望看到接近60% 到70% 的支出超出我們認為可銷售或投資回報率驅動的項目，即提高出席率和參觀緊迫性的項目，如Top Thrill 2 或多尼公園的鋼鐵威脅或客人透過投資新的行動應用程式、擴大或改進的食品和飲料產品等進行支出。因此，支出的平衡實際上更多地花在基礎設施類型的項目上，這些事情非常重要，人們在不工作之前通常不會注意到。例如 WiFi 平台、道路、停車場、衛浴等等。

In terms of returns, it will vary park by park, but it's fair to say that the big attractions, the marquee rides, the Top Thrills, the Iron Menace, things of that caliber have historically generated returns 1-year cash-on-cash returns that are well north of 20%. And now that's going to depend. There are a lot of macro factors that come into play, right, when you're looking at that that's the weather like for that season, are there broader economic headwinds or tailwinds, et cetera. But we've seen great success with those types of marquee attractions over the years, which is why we're so excited about this year's program. As we noted that it's the first capital program that's -- what we would consider sort of the normal and complete capital program that wasn't disrupted by the pandemic because they -- those programs got disrupted by several years based on the cadence of getting those rides purchased and built. And so we're really excited about what we have in place for '24.

就回報而言，每個公園都會有所不同，但可以公平地說，大型景點、帳篷遊樂設施、頂級驚險、鋼鐵威脅等此類設施歷來都產生了 1 年現金回報回報率遠高於20% 。現在這要看狀況了。有很多宏觀因素在發揮作用，對吧，當你觀察那個季節的天氣時，是否有更廣泛的經濟逆風或順風，等等。但多年來我們已經看到這些類型的大型景點取得了巨大成功，這就是為什麼我們對今年的計劃如此興奮。正如我們所指出的，這是第一個資本計劃，我們認為這是一種正常且完整的資本計劃，該計劃沒有受到大流行的干擾，因為這些計劃根據獲得這些計劃的節奏而被中斷了好幾年。因此，我們對 24 年所做的事情感到非常興奮。

There are no further questions at this time. So I'll hand back to Richard Zimmerman for closing comment.

目前沒有其他問題。因此，我將交回理查德·齊默爾曼（Richard Zimmerman）進行結束評論。

I want to thank everybody for joining us and for your continued interest in Cedar Fair. We're looking forward to doing an exciting year ahead, and we hope to see you with us every step of the way. We sincerely hope you can find some time to see you to visit our parks. So you can see firsthand what makes our brand of entertainment so special and timeless. Michael?

我要感謝大家加入我們並感謝你們對 Cedar Fair 的持續關注。我們期待著度過激動人心的一年，並希望在未來的每一步都能看到您的身影。我們真誠地希望您能抽出時間來參觀我們的公園。因此，您可以親眼目睹是什麼讓我們的娛樂品牌如此特別和永恆。麥可？

Thanks again, everybody. Please feel free to contact Investor Relations at (419) 627-2233, and our next scheduled call will be in early August after we release our second quarter results.

再次謝謝大家。請隨時致電 (419) 627-2233 聯繫投資者關係部，我們的下一次電話會議將於八月初在我們發布第二季度業績後舉行。

Gavin, that concludes today's call. Thank you.

加文，今天的電話會議到此結束。謝謝。

That concludes today's call.

今天的電話會議到此結束。

Thank you for participating. You may now all disconnect.

感謝您的參與。你們現在可以斷開連結了。