Highlights:

DPR delivered 796 thousand visits in Q4 2017, the highest quarterly visitation to date and an increase of 66% on Q3 2017

December holiday period delivered peak daily and monthly visitation

Operational restructuring of the Company substantially completed; Theme Parks and Retail & Hospitality divisions combined

Ahmad Hussain appointed Deputy CEO and Ahmed AlRayyes appointed as Chief Commercial Officer

DXB Entertainments PJSC (DFM:DXBE) today announced that Dubai Parks and Resorts, the region’s largest integrated theme park destination, delivered close to 2.3 million visits during the year ended 31 December 2017, with a record fourth quarter of 796 thousand visits.

Launched on a phased basis from late 2016, all rides and attractions at Dubai Parks and Resorts were fully open to the public from the fourth quarter of 2017, which combined with targeted activations, enhanced marketing efforts and attractive resident, tourist and annual pass pricing resulted in peak fourth quarter attendance.

December delivered the highest daily visitation to date, with an average of over 20,000 visits in the last 10 days and peak daily visits approaching 27,000, surpassing the previous daily record achieved during the DPR Big Day Out in September 2017.

Mohamed Almulla, CEO and Managing Director, DXB Entertainments PJSC, said,

“During 2017 we recorded close to 2.3 million visits, with the fourth quarter delivering our highest visitation to date, a clear sign of progress against our strategic plan and a reflection of the new pricing and marketing strategy implemented in September last year.

“Our key visitation periods will continue to be the cooler months of the first and fourth quarters of each year and therefore we remain optimistic that the positive trends in final months of 2017 will continue into the first quarter of 2018.

“The Company restructuring and transition from project delivery to an operational, consumer-centric Company is now substantially complete and as we move forward into 2018 further operational synergies and the continued delivery of a destination wide, world-class consumer experience remain our key priorities.

“To deliver this we will be unifying the Theme Parks and Retail & Hospitality divisions under a single operating unit, providing our visitors with a seamless destination-wide experience.  I am therefore pleased to announce that Ahmad Hussain, previously General Manager of Theme Parks, has been appointed Deputy CEO and will be supporting me in managing the day-to-day activities of the entire Company. 

“Ahmed AlRayyes, previously General Manager of Retail & Hospitality, has been appointed Chief Commercial Officer, with responsibility for all commercial and consumer touchpoints, including sales, marketing, activations and events and digital.”

The Group continues to receive support from its stakeholders, in November the Group received approval at the General Assembly of its Shareholders to drawdown AED 455 million under its subordinated loan facility from Meraas, taking total funding received under the facility to AED 700 million. In addition, the Group has received support from its financing partners, specifically in regards to financial testing due at the 2017 year end.

For further information, please contact:
Marwa Gouda, Head of Investor Relations, DXB Entertainments PJSC
+97148200820
IR@dxbentertainments.com
Jon Earl, Managing Director, FTI Consulting
+97144372104
jon.earl@fticonsulting.com

Anca Cighi, Director, FTI Consulting
+97144372111
anca.cighi@fticonsulting.com

DXB Entertainments PJSC

DXB Entertainments PJSC (previously Dubai Parks and Resorts PJSC) is a Dubai-based operator of leisure and entertainment destinations and experiences. The Company is traded on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) under the trading symbol DXBE. We bring together a diverse portfolio of world-class brands to offer entertainment in the areas of theme parks, family entertainment centres and retail and hospitality.

DXB Entertainments is the owner of Dubai Parks and Resorts, the region’s largest integrated theme park destination, with five Theme Parks (Six Flags Dubai under development), two Hotels (LEGOLAND® Hotel under development), and one retail and dining facility all spread over 30.6 million sq.ft of land, with an estimated AED 13.2 billion in development costs.

DXB Entertainments also manages six Dubai-based mid-way attractions in addition to a chain of cinemas, all owned by Meraas.

With a market cap of AED 6.2 billion as of 31 July 2017, DXB Entertainments is the largest leisure and entertainment company in the region.

For more information, go to: www.dxbentertainments.com

© Press Release 2018