Wonderla Holidays Limited — Q3 FY25 earnings call

Call held 28 Jan 2025

Management summary

Wonderla Holidays reported a challenging Q3 FY25 with minor revenue degrowth and significant EBITDA/PAT decline, primarily due to lower turnout in Kochi and Bangalore parks impacted by unexpected monsoon and health concerns. Hyderabad Park, however, delivered its best Q3 performance. The company is progressing with its Chennai Park development, targeting December 2025 for launch, and has successfully completed a QIP to fund expansion and existing park enhancements. Management remains bullish on long-term growth, focusing on digital transformation, new attractions, and geographical diversification to mitigate seasonal and weather-related risks.

Highlights

  • Q3 FY25 Revenue stood at INR121.5 crores, a minor degrowth of 1.7% YoY.

  • 9M FY25 Revenue reached INR361.8 crores, down 5.6% YoY.

  • Q3 FY25 EBITDA was INR42.2 crores, a 30.3% degrowth YoY, with a margin of 33.3%.

  • 9M FY25 EBITDA was INR140.9 crores, a 32.8% degrowth YoY, with a margin of 37.5%.

  • Q3 FY25 PAT amounted to INR20.3 crores, a 45.7% degrowth YoY, with a margin of 16.1%.

  • Total footfall for Q3 FY25 was 9.18 lakhs, with Hyderabad Park achieving its best-ever Q3 in 8 years.

  • Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) for Q3 FY25 was INR1,272 and for 9M FY25 was INR1,472.

  • Chennai Park is slated to begin commercial operations by December 2025, funded partly by the recent QIP.

Concerns

  • Inclement weather conditions (monsoon, cyclones)

Key financials

  1. Revenue ₹121.5 Cr -1.7%YoY
  2. EBITDA ₹42.2 Cr -30.3%YoY
  3. EBITDA Margin 33.3%
  4. PAT ₹20.3 Cr -45.7%YoY
  5. PAT Margin 16.1%
  6. ARPU ₹1,272
  7. Footfall ₹9.18 lakh

What they filed

Q1 FY27: revenue up 44.6%, net profit up 37.7% against the same quarter last year.

₹ Cr · quarterly
Line itemQ2 FY25Q3 FY25Q4 FY25Q1 FY26Q2 FY26Q3 FY26Q4 FY26Q1 FY27
Revenue67 122 97 168 80 +19%135 +11%136 +40%243 +45%
EBITDA-1 37 20 77 7 +800%40 +8%40 +100%113 +47%
Net profit15 20 11 53 -2 −113%14 −30%16 +45%73 +38%
How to read this

₹ crore, as filed. The percentage beside a figure is the change against the same quarter a year earlier — never the quarter before, which would make every seasonal business look like it collapses and booms each year.

Segment breakdown

  • Bangalore Park
    ₹2.99 lakh Footfall
  • Cochin Park
    ₹2.57 lakh Footfall
  • Hyderabad Park
    ₹3.28 lakh Footfall
  • Bhubaneswar Park
    ₹0.34 lakh Footfall
  • Wonderla Resort
    ₹5,770 Average Room Rent (9M)52% Occupancy (9M)

Guidance & targets

Capacity

  • Chennai Park Operations Start Capacity · FY26 · High confidence December 2025

    Previously June or July 2025 → December 2025

    Our Chennai Park is slated to begin operations towards the end of the next financial year, most likely open will be open for commercial operations from December.

    — Arun Chittilappilly, Managing Director

  • Bengaluru Resort Extension Launch Capacity · FY26 · High confidence Beginning of next financial year
    The extension of our resort at Bengaluru is also proceeding at the right direction, and we expect to launch this by the beginning of next financial year.

    — Arun Chittilappilly, Managing Director

Footfall

  • Bhubaneswar Park Matured Footfall Footfall · 4-5 years · Medium confidence 5-6 lakhs
    I think once it kind of fully matures, we are expecting between 5 lakhs and 6 lakhs, 5 lakhs to 6 lakhs footfalls.

    — Arun Chittilappilly, Managing Director

Profitability

  • Bhubaneswar Park Breakeven Footfall Profitability · Next financial year · High confidence 2-2.5 lakhs
    Two lakhs, it will breakeven. 2 lakhs or 2.5 lakhs. That should happen next year. Next financial year, it will happen.

    — Arun Chittilappilly, Managing Director

  • EBITDA Margin Profitability · Next 1-2 years · Medium confidence 35-40%
    this can be about 35% to 40% if you historically observe the EBITDA margin of the company, so you can see about pre-COVID, it was about some 35% to 40%. And after COVID, after adding another 2 years, post-COVID, it's about some 40%. So it's always -- 35% to 40% would be the expectation, I feel.

    — Saji Louiz, Chief Financial Officer

  • Chennai Park Breakeven Profitability · FY27 · Medium confidence Within first full year of operations
    Within the first full year of operations, I think we should be able to break even.

    — Arun Chittilappilly, Managing Director

Capex

  • New Park Capex (Tier 2 City) Capex · Long-term · High confidence INR200 crores
    Setting up a park for us in a Tier 2 city, you're looking at around INR200 crores

    — Arun Chittilappilly, Managing Director

  • New Park Capex (Large City) Capex · Long-term · High confidence INR500 crores
    and for a large city, about INR500 crores.

    — Arun Chittilappilly, Managing Director

  • Rides Cost Percentage (of total park capex) Capex · Long-term · High confidence 60%
    I would say 60%. 60% will go on rides, 40% will be other things, buildings, restaurants, pathways.

    — Arun Chittilappilly, Managing Director

  • QIP Fund Allocation for Chennai Capex · Short-term · High confidence Around 50%
    Around 50%. 50% for Chennai?

    — Arun Chittilappilly, Managing Director

  • Capex for Existing Parks Capex · Ongoing · High confidence 10% of revenue
    we generally spend about some 10% of revenue towards the capital expenses as a ride expansion or maybe restaurant building and combination of this.

    — Arun Chittilappilly, Managing Director

Revenue

  • Non-Ticketing Revenue Growth Revenue · Moving forward · High confidence 9-11%
    So we expect moving forward also anywhere between 9% to 11%, we want to build our sales per head.

    — Dheeran Choudhary, Chief Operating Officer

Debt

  • Debt for Future Projects (as % of total spend) Debt · Long-term · High confidence 30%
    It's about some 30% of the total spend, that is what we are thinking of from the debt.

    — Saji Louiz, Chief Financial Officer

Risks & concerns

  • Inclement weather conditions (monsoon, cyclones)

    high

    Unexpected monsoon in Bangalore and cyclones in Bhubaneswar significantly impacted Q3 footfalls and revenue, acknowledged as an 'outlier' and 'wildcard'.

    Management acknowledged

  • Health concerns affecting group bookings

    medium

    Meningitis issue in Cochin led to school groups refraining from visiting, causing a dip in footfalls for the park.

    Management acknowledged

  • Highly seasonal nature of new markets (e.g., Bhubaneswar)

    medium

    Bhubaneswar market is highly seasonal, with summer being the main season, making it challenging to establish year-round footfall in the first year of operations.

    Management acknowledged

  • Procedural delays in government land allocation for new projects

    medium

    Progress on new projects (beyond Chennai) is stalled due to government procedural delays in releasing or parting with land, despite strong government support.

    Management acknowledged

  • Cyclical slowdown or overall consumption slowdown in discretionary spend

    medium

    Management agreed that macro environment factors and a slowdown in discretionary spend, as noted by other consumer companies, also imply to Wonderla.

    Analyst acknowledged

Areas of evasion (1)

  • specific timelines for new projects beyond Chennai and MP

Q&A highlights

3 direct
Reasons for Q3 footfall decline in Bangalore and Kochi, and lower-than-expected footfall in Bhubaneswar. Direct
what happened in Bengaluru was we had a great Dussehra, but the second half, which is also a critical part in October, there was the sudden unexpected monsoon. In fact, you would have read news about Bangalore being under the flood. So it kind of derailed our entire revenue for 2 weeks, which kind of caused the dip. And in Cochin, we saw good growth in our retail footfall, but this was a big year for groups. And unfortunately, due to certain health concerns, there was this whole meningitis issue that was playing in Cochin, a lot of school groups refrained from coming this year to the park.

Management provided specific, external reasons (weather, health issues) for the footfall decline in established parks, and explained the seasonality and new park challenges for Bhubaneswar, which is crucial for understanding the Q3 underperformance.

Asked by Himanshu Upadhyay

Utilization plan for the funds raised through the recent QIP. Direct
So the QIP fund mostly will be used for Chennai and some of it will be used for our other new projects and some of it will be used for our existing projects like Bangalore. So these are between Bangalore, Chennai and some new projects. This is how the new this QIP will be used for that. Around 50% for Chennai?

This question clarified the strategic allocation of the newly raised capital, indicating a balanced approach between funding the major Chennai project, exploring new ventures, and enhancing existing assets, providing insight into future growth drivers.

Asked by Yashodhan Nerurkar

Long-term strategy to increase footfalls consistently and the components of ARPU, specifically non-ticketing revenue growth. Direct
One is to have more geographies where we can so we can hedge our we can grow in size and also hedge our bet in terms of weather issues. The other thing is we have more tickets sold online and booked in advance so that we can lock in footfall. So almost more than 50% or 55% of our footfall general footfall is now prebooked and online footfall. And one more thing is ARPU is a combination of ATP and SPH. SPH is also we maintain in our parks. So entire restaurants chain in our parks are managed and operated by Wonderla. About 9% and 12% of growth is there even in Q3 and 9 months period.

Management outlined a clear multi-pronged strategy for sustainable growth, including geographical diversification, digital booking emphasis, and active management of non-ticketing revenue, which are key drivers for long-term profitability and resilience against external factors.

Asked by Yashodhan Nerurkar

3 min read 7 chapters

Detailed narrative

Q3 FY25 Financial Performance Overview

Wonderla Holidays reported a Q3 FY25 revenue of INR121.5 crores, marking a 1.7% year-on-year degrowth. EBITDA for the quarter stood at INR42.2 crores, a 30.3% decline, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 33.3%. Profit after tax (PAT) was INR20.3 crores, down 45.7% YoY, with a PAT margin of 16.1%. For the nine-month period, revenue was INR361.8 crores (down 5.6%), EBITDA INR140.9 crores (down 32.8%), and PAT INR98.3 crores (down 32.8%). The average revenue per user (ARPU) for Q3 was INR1,272, and for 9M, it was INR1,472.

Park-Specific Performance and Challenges

Q3 footfall was 9.18 lakhs. Hyderabad Park achieved its best-ever Q3 in 8 years, with 3.28 lakh visitors, driven by strong group footfalls. However, Bangalore Park recorded 2.99 lakh visitors and Cochin Park 2.57 lakh visitors, both experiencing lower turnout due to external factors. Bangalore was impacted by unexpected monsoon floods in October, while Cochin faced a meningitis issue that deterred school groups. The newly launched Bhubaneswar Park saw 34,000 visitors in Q3, affected by cyclone events and the market's high seasonality in its initial year.

Expansion and Capex Plans

The Chennai Park is now expected to commence commercial operations by December 2025, a delay from the initial June/July 2025 target. The extension of the Bengaluru resort is anticipated to launch by the beginning of the next financial year. Management estimates a Tier 2 city park costs around INR200 crores, with 60% allocated to rides, and a large city park around INR500 crores. The company plans to spend approximately 10% of its revenue on sustaining capex for ride expansion and restaurant building in existing parks.

QIP Utilization and Funding Strategy

Wonderla successfully completed a QIP, generating significant interest from marquee investors. Approximately 50% of the QIP funds will be utilized for the Chennai project, with the remainder allocated to other new projects and enhancements in existing parks like Bangalore. For future projects beyond the current pipeline, the company intends to fund them through a combination of internal accruals and debt, with debt comprising about 30% of the total spend.

Footfall and ARPU Dynamics

Management noted that customer spend per head (non-ticket revenue) grew by 9% in Q3 and 12% for 9 months, reflecting successful efforts to boost non-ticket revenue. The company is focusing on increasing online bookings, with over 50-55% of general footfall now pre-booked, to reduce dependence on last-minute visits and mitigate weather impacts. The long-term goal for Bhubaneswar Park is 5-6 lakh footfalls within 4-5 years, with a breakeven point of 2-2.5 lakh footfalls expected in the next financial year.

Strategic Initiatives and Digital Transformation

Wonderla is on a digital transformation path, having recently revamped its website and in the process of upgrading ticket booking and POS systems to enhance both in-park and digital engagement. The company relaunched its mascot Chikku with a new attraction in Kochi Park, which will be rolled out to other parks. Vibrant events like WonderCon Bhubaneswar, Halloween in Bangalore, and festive celebrations were hosted to maintain footfall and enhance guest experience.

Long-Term Outlook and Market Potential

Despite the Q3 challenges, management remains bullish on the long-term growth prospects, citing India's young population and the lack of other amusement parks in their operating markets. They aim to achieve more than 1 million footfalls per park on average, with a long-term EBITDA margin expectation of 35-40%. The company is actively pursuing geographical diversification and adding new attractions across all parks to accommodate more visitors and market effectively, especially for the upcoming summer season.

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