Wonderla Holidays Net up 46 pc in Sept qtr as sales rise

Wonderla Holidays, the Kochi-based theme park promoted by V Guard Industries, reported a 46 per cent rise in net profit today, for the September quarter at Rs 6.4 crore as against Rs 4.41 crore a year ago.
The revenue of the company which runs two theme parks in Kochi and Bangalore, jumped 34 per cent to Rs 37.14 crore from Rs 27.62 crore in the same period last year.
Wonderla Holidays Managing Director Arun K Chittilappilly attributed the good set of numbers to a rise in footfalls, which grew by 10 per cent and an increase in margins, which stood at around 55 per cent during the quarter.

The rise in margins and footfalls was due to festive seasons and the company said it expects domestic tourism to expand this year because of the Central government promoting tourism.
Wonderla Holidays went public in April with a Rs 180-crore initial public offering was oversubscribed 38 times the issue size and gained 32 per cent on debut.
The Chittilappilly family who is the promoter, still owns 71 per cent in the company, which is building its third theme park in Hyderabad.

When asked whether the company is looking at raising funds, he said denied it, saying that the IPO proceeds are enough to complete the Hyderabad project.

The company is nearly debt free, with only less than Rs 50 crore in bank loans, he said.
Chittilappilly said revenue from the two amusement parks in Bangalore and Kochi rose to Rs 35.1 crore, while its resort division reported good performance with an occupancy rate of 44 per cent, which is an increase of 144 per cent compared to the year ago.
About business outlook, he said, "We are optimistic about growth coming from both the amusement parks. We are on track to construct a theme park in Hyderabad in a matter of weeks and you can expect a formal announcement soon".