Alton Towers owner Merlin Entertainments (LON:MERL) has issued a profit warning directly related to last month's tragic accident at the theme park.
The company, which is scheduled to announce interim results on Thursday, said today that while half-year results will be in line with expectations, June's accident, which resulted in four people being seriously injured and the temporary closure of Alton Towers, had hit trading at the start of the critical summer season.
Merlin, which owns several theme parks, said Alton Towers had been most affected by the adverse publicity surrounding the crash on a thrill ride but other units in its UK Resorts Theme Parks estate had also seen a drop-off in visitors.
The company's UK theme park made underlying profits (EBITDA) of £87mln last year, but in the current financial year it reckons this will be down to somewhere between £40mln and £50mln – a bigger downgrade than some in the market had been expecting.
In other leisure sector news, China has lifted a ban on games consoles that was imposed in the year 2000. Perhaps the government has realised that the computer gaming scene has moved on to hand-held communication devices.
According to reports, the ban was introduced because the authorities were worried that Chinese children would fritter away their time learning how to be jet pilots, assassins, business tycoons, architects, engineers or … er … criminal overlords.
Chinese kids no longer need to find other things on which to waste their time, because the government has not only lifted the ban but has put its weight behind promoting China's entertainment and technology sector.
On the other hand, the content of games will be subject to government censorship.
It's time to call Whitehall 1212, and ask for Inspector Corner of the Yard!
Great Scotland Yard, for scores of years the iconic headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, has been sold to an Indian billionaire, Yusuff Ali, who intends to turn it into a luxury hotel.
Dial R for Room Service, but best not dial M for anything ...
In the small caps world, Range Resources (LON:RRL) has been making a bit of a splash after it confirmed its backer, Beijing Sibo Investment Management, has received all necessary government and regulatory approvals to complete its proposed investment in the company.
Range shares rose to 0.637p from 0.625p overnight as Sibo confirmed it intends to subscribe for US$22.1mln worth of shares at 8p a pop.
Range's directors and management are pitching in to buy 300,000 bucks worth of shares at the same price.
Finally, AFC Energy (LON:AFC) is making the long-awaited step towards seriously commercialising its impressive fuel cell technology, having signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Stadtwerke Stade.
Terms have been agreed that will see the two companies collaborate as part of the AFC fuel cell facility in Stade until 31 July 2017, with an option to extend the term of the PPA for a further 12 months.
The commercial terms of the PPA will broadly reflect the sale of electricity at spot market prices, meaning AFC will potentially benefit from the sale of power at peak power pricing, the company said.