Hired to turn around SeaWorld Entertainment in 2015, president and CEO Joel Manby failed to achieve that goal, and he stepped down on Tuesday.
The company's chief parks operations officer, John Reilly,
has been named interim CEO while a search is conducted for Manby's replacement. SeaWorld chairman Yoshikazu Maruyama has become
interim executive chairman.
Joel Manby
Manby's departure comes as SeaWorld reported a net loss of 20.7 million in the fourth quarter and a net loss of $202.4 million for all of 2017. SeaWorld in Q2 had to write down nearly $270 million, a goodwill impairment charge related to SeaWorld Orlando, the company's flagship theme park.
In 2017, revenue and park attendance fell. Revenue was $1.26 billion, a 6% decrease from $1.34 billion in 2016. Park attendance fell 5.5%, from 22 million in 2016 to 20.8 million last year. The company actually reported an attendance increase from guests within 300 miles for some parks, but SeaWorld said there was a decline in fly-in guests, domestic and international.
SeaWorld has tried to repair its public image over the last few years, following backlash fueled by animal
rights groups as a result of negative publicity generated by the 2013
documentary "Blackfish," which was critical of SeaWorld's killer
whale program.
In late 2015, the company unveiled a plan to turn around its
business, which included investing in new rides and putting a greater emphasis on
education and animal conservation. SeaWorld recently announced plans for its first
non-U.S. property, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, which is slated to open in 2022.
The growth of Universal Parks & Resorts in Orlando also has hurt SeaWorld (and cut into Disney World's market share, for that matter). Universal started pulling further away from SeaWorld in 2010, when it opened Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Before that attraction opened, Universal's market share in Orlando was approximately 16%. It's now around 25%, and SeaWorld's has fallen from 9% to less than 6%, according to estimates by the Themed Entertainment Association/AECOM.