Macquarie Leisure Trust, the owner of Dreamworld theme park on Australia’s Gold Coast, has reported full year net profits up 28 per cent to AUS$30.2m (£12.2m, US$23m, 17.9m euro) in the year to 30 June 2006.
Dreamworld saw a 13 per cent increase in earnings to AUS$31m (£12.5m, US$23.7m, 18.3m euro) from AUS$27.4m (£11m, US$21m, 16.2m euro) the previous year.
The theme park welcomed 1.4 million guests over the year, an increase of 2.5 per cent. Although attendance by international guests fell by 6 per cent – to 20 per cent of all visitors – growth in domestic visits offset the fall.
Dreamworld, which hosts the Australian Big Brother house and recently unveiled the FlowRider surf attraction, is set to open a separately-gated AUS$56m (£24m, 35m euro, US$41m) waterpark in December this year. Macquarie is also currently appealing a decision by the Gold Coast City Council to refuse the group permission to develop a retail, entertainment and leisure destination adjacent to the theme park.
Elsewhere in the Macquarie Leisure fold, its bowling division reported total revenue of AUS$78.3m (£31.5m, US$60m, 46.3m euro), delivering a net profit before property costs of AUS$19.6m (£7.9, US$15m, 11.6m euro), representing the acquisitions of Garden City Bowl in Christchurch, Logan Hyperbowl in Brisbane and the Melbourne-based Kingpin chain.
The group’s d’Albora Marina portfolio has also recently secured development rights to build a new marina in the Victoria Harbour precinct in Melbourne’s Docklands.
Macquarie CEO Greg Shaw said the company was now “better positioned for ongoing revenue and earnings growth as the underlying businesses continue to benefit from better integration”. Details: wwwmacquarie,com,au
Photograph: The FlowRider surf system at Dreamworld
