DXB Entertainments, the theme park operator of Legoland and Motiongate in Dubai, narrowed its third quarter loss by 11 per cent as costs dropped during the pandemic-enforced closure of its facilities.
The loss for the three months to the end of September decreased to Dh238.04 million ($64.86m), from Dh268.21m a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares trade.
Quarterly salaries, depreciation charges and other expenses declined to Dh138.76m, from Dh225.27 a year earlier. The company’s market and selling expenses dropped to Dh1.69m at the end of September, from Dh11.13m in the year earlier period.
For the first nine months of the year, the company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) loss came in at Dh114m, a 25 per cent year-on-year improvement.
The company attributed the improvement to its efficiency programme and cost mitigation initiatives employed since the onset of the pandemic in March this year. Its operating costs for the nine-month period decreased 54 per cent to Dh205m.
“We responded quickly and efficiently to the pandemic, and this has been clearly reflected in the 25 per cent improvement in our adjusted Ebitda loss for the nine-month period, despite the challenging market environment,” DXB Entertainments’ chief executive Mohamed Almulla, said in a separate statement.
The company said its nine-month revenue slumped to Dh109m, compared with Dh330m for the same period in 2019, mainly due to the closure of its attractions for about six month.
It recorded 602,000 visits during the first nine months, a 67 per cent drop on annual basis.
Its Motiongate attractions are now open with enhanced health and safety protocols. During the closure period, the company upgraded its attraction and added 10 new rides in Bollywood Parks and two new in Motiongate Dubai, it said.
