Merlin Entertainments PLC (LON:MERL) said visitor numbers for its London division of Midway brands remained down year-on-year as the 2017 terror attacks continued to affect trading ahead of its interim results.
The FTSE 250-theme park and attractions operator said in a trading update that despite the reduction, it remained confident of a recovery over time, while group trading for the period was in line with expectations.
READ: Legoland owner Merlin Entertainments sees shares leap on solid 2017 results, positive 2018 outlook
Merlin added that its theme park operating groups had seen trading in line with expectations despite the earlier Easter period and poor weather conditions.
The group also said its business development programme was on track, with all 644 accommodation rooms and one of nine planned new Midway attractions now open.
In its finances, the firm restated an announcement from 19 April, in which it said it had successfully refinanced certain banking facilities, extending the size and maturity of a revolving credit facility, and repaying £377mln equivalent of sterling and US dollar-denominated term loans.
Merlin will release its interim results for 2018 on 2 August.
In a note to clients, analysts at Liberum retained their ‘hold’ rating on the stock, adding: “We remain concerned that increasing capex, sluggish LFL and [negative] FX will weigh on near term returns whilst raising leverage. Against this backdrop, it is hard to see a case for a sustained re-rating”.
In early morning trading, Merlin shares were down 0.6% at 344.5p.
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