DXBE to stop managing leisure assets as losses pile
Company reports Dh233m in losses in second quarter
Dubai: DXB Entertainments (DXBE), the owner and operator of Dubai Parks and Resorts, said on Thursday it has decided to only focus on its core assets as it reported another quarter of losses.
The company reported Dh233 million in losses for the quarter, narrowing by 10 per cent from the Dh259 million in losses in the same period last year as visitor numbers rose by 5 per cent.
This brought total losses in the first half of 2019 to Dh448 million – down 4 per cent year-on-year.
Dh110m
DXBE said it has reached an agreement its majority shareholder Meraas “to discontinue the management of its portfolio of leisure and entertainment assets, with effect from mid-September.”
Concurrently, Paul Parker, who was recently appointed as chief commercial officer after serving as general manager of the Family Entertainment Centres, will be leaving DXBE. The company said it will provide an update on his replacement “in due course.”
The decision to stop managing certain assets comes as DXBE continues to step away from some of its earlier plans as losses pile up. In February 2019, the company abandoned plans to develop a Six Flags amusement park in Dubai, agreeing to pay US-based Six Flags Entertainment Corp. $7.5 million for its refusal.
At the time, DXBE said that the funding intended for Six Flags was “no longer available, and the Six Flags Dubai project cannot proceed at this time.”
For the second quarter of this year, visitor numbers grew to 641,000 people, driven by a rush in mid-June during which the company had promotions for Philippine’s Independence Day. The promotions between June 12 and 15 attracted over 92,000 visits, DXBE said.
In the first six months of 2019, total visitor numbers were lower year-on-year, at 1.4 million – down 4 per cent. Revenues were also lower for both the second quarter and the first half, reaching Dh110 million in the quarter, a drop of 5 per cent, and Dh252 million in the first six months of 2019 – down 13 per cent.
DXBE said that its review of its cost base is ongoing, and that it plans to implement more operational efficiencies.