KOCHI: After Kochi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai, where the land acquisition is over, Wonderla Holidays management has now set its eyes on cities such as Goa, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Amaravathi, etc for the next round of expansion.
Talking to analysts as part of the ‘earnings conference call’ recently, George Joseph, the joint managing director of the company, said once the Chennai Park commences operation, the company would start looking for new destinations as part of its expansion.
“There are invitations from many quarters like Goa, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Amaravati etc. We are aware that many existing parks are for sale, which the respective managements are not able to run profitably,” George Joseph added.
However, he reminded that the company was not very keen on the takeover of parks that are not well-maintained. “Once we start the Chennai Park we will definitely look at the next destination, but not right now,” he concluded.
The company estimates that the Chennai Park will be completed at an investment of around Rs350 crore to Rs380 crore.
“We have already invested Rs100 crore on Chennai Park project, and we have another Rs100 crore on our books that takes the figure to Rs200 crore,” a senior company official said.
He further explained that the Chennai Park can be completed with the help of the company’s own cash generation to the extent of Rs125 crore to Rs150 crore and maybe with an additional Rs50 crore loan if needed.
Wonderla Holidays, the largest amusement park group in the country, has reported net profit of Rs14.5 crore for the quarter ending December 31, 2018, compared with Rs6.5 crore for the same period last year, representing 122 per cent growth year on year.
The Wonderla Holidays Ltd said it has improved its revenues by 19.1 per cent from Rs63.8 crore to Rs76 crore year on year for the quarter ended December 31, 2018, on the back of healthy footfall growth in its parks.
While the average ticket revenue per visitor increased by 8.7 per cent year-on-year, the company saw a gross growth of 8.2 per cent year-on-year in average non-ticket spend per visitor during the quarter under review.
