The Ardent Leisure Group Ltd (ASX: ALG) share price has rocketed 25% on Thursday morning after the leisure and entertainment group's latest full-year results release.
Ardent Leisure share price rockets on bumper EBITDA figures
Some of the key takeaways from this morning's FY21 results include:
- Revenue down 1.9% from restated FY20 results to $390.7 million
- Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) up 165.6% to $67.3 million
- Net loss after tax reduced by 36.1% to $86.9 million
- EBITDA excluding specific items up 434.7% to $30.6 million
The Ardent Leisure share price has surged higher on Thursday morning following the latest update.
What happened in FY21 for Ardent Leisure?
A strong result for Main Event, the group's chain of US family entertainment centres, underpinned the full-year result. The US-based segment reported EBITDA of US$64.3 million, up 70.9% on the prior year. Excluding specific items, segment EBITDA jumped 168.1% to US$36.5 million.
Ardent Leisure is anticipating four new centre openings in FY22 following the strong trading result in the second half of the year.
COVID-19 disruptions were unsurprisingly a major drag on Australian earnings. Theme park traffic remains subdued with interstate borders closed and lockdowns interrupting the Aussie economy.
What did management say?
Ardent Leisure Chairman, Dr Gary Weiss, had the following to say about the result:
We are pleased to see our results have improved on prior year notwithstanding the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on our businesses.
The second half of the financial year has seen Main Event rebound well, with constant centre EBITDA outperforming pre-COVID levels in the latter part of the year. We are optimistic that this positive momentum will continue into FY22.
Today's Ardent Leisure share price surge shows investors are similarly optimistic following today's results.
What's next for Ardent Leisure and its share price?
Ardent Leisure remains optimistic with pent up demand across local and interstate markets. The vaccine rollout and subsequent reopening of the broader economy are hoped to boost earnings.
The Ardent Leisure share price is now up 83% year to date following this morning's surge, meaning it has significantly outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).
