Coast Entertainment Holdings Limited (CEH) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Coast Entertainment Holdings Limited FY '26 Half-Year Financial Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to hand the conference over to Dr. Gary Weiss, Chairman of Coast Entertainment Holdings Limited. Please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today for our presentation of the FY '26 half-year results for Coast Entertainment Holdings Limited. My name is Gary Weiss, Chairman of Coast Entertainment, and I'm joined today by our Chief Executive Officer, Greg Yong, and our Chief Financial Officer, Jose de Sacadura. Turning to Slide 2. I'll begin with a brief overview of the group's key highlights for the period before handing over to Jose and Greg to take you through the financial results and operating performance in more detail. Turning to Slide 3. As outlined in our preliminary trading update to the market on 21 January, the group is pleased to report a solid performance for the half year ended 30 December 2025, reflecting strong momentum, which has continued to build from strategic investments and initiatives we have delivered over recent years. It is worth noting upfront that FY '26 is a 53-week year. And as such, the statutory first half results reflect 27 weeks of trading compared to 26 weeks in the prior corresponding period. While this additional week has contributed to the reported results, the underlying like-for-like performance across the business has been excellent, as Greg will talk to you shortly. During the half, our Theme Parks and Attractions business delivered strong growth across all key metrics. Ticket sales increased by 47% on the prior period. Visitation was up 44%, and operating revenue rose 30% to $62.2 million, exceeding FY '16 levels. Importantly, the rate of earnings growth significantly outpaced that of revenue. Theme Park & Attractions EBITDA, excluding specific items, increased to $11.2 million, up 169% on the prior period, exceeding the full year result for FY '25. This highlights the operating leverage in the business as incremental revenue from high visitation falls increasingly through to the bottom line. At a consolidated level, EBITDA, excluding specific items, increased to $8.7 million, up 368% over the prior period, and the group delivered a statutory net profit of $3.2 million. As Jose will outline shortly, the prior period's statutory result included material storm-related insurance proceeds, which are one-off in nature and should be considered when comparing year-on-year performance. We're also pleased to see continued strength in our balance sheet. At the end of December, the group held $37.6 million in cash, no drawn debt, and $134 million of available tax losses. During the period, the group also renewed and increased its bank loan facility to $20 million, and I can confirm that this facility remains fully undrawn to date. From an operational perspective, our new attractions, Rivertown and the recently opened King Claw, continue to resonate strongly with guests, driving higher attendances and repeat visitation as well as strong engagement. Pleasingly, the positive performance trends of the first half have continued into the second half, with January continuing to see growth over the prior corresponding period, albeit at more moderate levels as the group cycles a strong prior second half performance following the opening of Rivertown in December 2024. Looking ahead, while we remain very positive on the underlying trajectory of the business, it is important to recognize that we are operating in an environment that continues to be challenging for many in the retail and discretionary spending sectors. That said, the group enters the second half with strong fundamentals and momentum, a compelling product offering, and a solid financial position. With that, I will now hand over to Jose to take you through the group's financial results in more detail.

Thank you, Gary, and good morning, everyone. Turning to Slide 4. I'll provide a brief overview of the group's consolidated financial performance for the first half of FY '26. As Gary mentioned, the statutory results for the first half of '26 reflect 27 weeks of trading compared to 26 weeks in the prior period. My remarks will focus on the statutory results, with Greg later providing additional color on the like-for-like trading performance. As you can see in the numbers, the first half of FY '26 saw the group deliver a solid trading performance, reflecting continued strong momentum from recently opened attractions, increased marketing and promotional activity, improving trading conditions, and, of course, the additional week of trading. Operating revenue for the half increased 30.2% to $62.2 million, driven by strong growth in ticket sales and visitation. This revenue growth was achieved despite annual passes again making up a larger proportion of the sales mix. As a reminder, revenue recognition for these passes is spread over 12 months and has driven a 43% increase in deferred revenue balances in the period to almost $22 million by the end of December. Theme Parks & Attractions EBITDA, excluding specific items, increased to $11.2 million, up 169% on the prior period and meaningfully exceeded the group's full year result for FY '25 of $8.8 million. This outcome reflects both the strength of top-line growth and the benefits of operating leverage, as higher attendance is absorbed across the largely fixed cost base. Corporate costs reached a sustainable base in FY '25 following several years of active cost reduction initiatives. First half '26 costs, excluding specific items, increased slightly to $2.5 million, but remained significantly below historical levels. And as you'd expect, management continues to apply a disciplined approach in managing these costs to help mitigate ongoing cost pressures. The group's EBITDA result was impacted by some unrealized and nonrecurring specific items. And although not significant in the first half of '26, these amounted to a $5.2 million benefit in the prior period, mostly related to one-off insurance income arising from the FY '24 summer storms. As Gary mentioned previously, this should be taken into consideration when comparing statutory results year-over-year. At a consolidated level, EBITDA, excluding specific items, increased by 368.2% to $8.7 million, more than doubling the full-year result for FY '25 of $4.1 million. Below EBITDA, depreciation and amortization increased by $1.1 million, reflecting a higher asset base following the significant capital investment over the last 12 to 18 months. And net interest income declined by about $1 million due to lower average cash balances and a reduction in deposit rates compared to the prior period. So, as you can see at the bottom line, the group delivered a statutory net profit of $3.2 million, marginally above last year. However, when we exclude the $5.2 million of specific items benefiting last year's EBITDA result, which I just mentioned, this reveals a much larger improvement in underlying trading performance over the prior first half. I'll now turn to cash flows and capital management on Slide 5. The group continues to maintain a strong and flexible financial position. As of 30th of December, the group held cash balances of $37.6 million, an increase of $3.7 million compared to the end of FY '25. Importantly, the group generated positive cash inflows during the period despite funding capital expenditure and share buyback activity, which I'll cover in a moment. Operating cash flows for the half were $17.3 million, up $13.4 million or over 300% over the prior period, reflecting stronger trading performance and higher annual pass sales for which we received the cash upfront. Capital expenditure for the period totaled $10.3 million, comprising approximately $4 million of maintenance CapEx and $6.3 million of development CapEx largely related to the completion of King Claw, which opened in mid-December. As you can see, cash flows relating to this investment were comfortably funded from operating cash flows during the period. The group also completed its second on-market share buyback, for which the final $3.7 million was funded earlier in the half. And as Gary mentioned earlier, in December, the group renewed and increased its bank loan facility to $20 million. This facility remains fully undrawn to date and provides additional liquidity and funding flexibility for the group should it be required. As always, the Board continues to assess capital management options for the group's surplus cash, taking into account operating performance, future funding needs, and prevailing market conditions. Any decisions in this regard will be made with a view to maximizing long-term shareholder value. Turning to Slide 6. As Gary mentioned earlier, the group started the second half of the year with strong fundamentals and a solid financial position. On the 30th of December, the group holds cash of almost $38 million, remains debt-free, and owns fully unencumbered real estate assets. Looking at the balance sheet, you'll see consolidated net assets of $221 million at the end of the half, but this doesn't paint the full picture. Firstly, as Gary noted earlier, the group currently holds $134 million in available tax losses, for which I can confirm no deferred tax asset is currently carried in the balance sheet. Additional to this, the group has a further $47 million of tax-deductible temporary differences, which are also not reflected in the group's net asset value. Together, these items represent a combined tax benefit of $54.4 million, which remains off-balance sheet. As I've outlined previously, these items continue to be of great value to the group, as despite the conservative accounting treatment, they remain available for the use by the group in future years. Secondly, as noted in previous presentations, the group's accounts currently record Dreamworld and SkyPoint assets at historic costs, net of accumulated depreciation and impairments. As a reminder, back in December 2023, SkyPoint was independently valued at $37 million, almost $27 million above its current book value. Since then, SkyPoint has grown its earnings by a further 30%. Adjusting for these unrecognized tax assets and Skypoint valuation uplift alone shows an additional $81 million of potential value over and above the current net asset value, equating to a pro forma net asset position of around about $302 million or $0.78 per share. Note that these numbers do not include any additional benefit from the improved performance of SkyPoint since that last valuation in December '23, nor the material upside, which potentially exists for the Dreamworld site. While we haven't had an independent valuation of Dreamworld conducted for many years, it is instructive to know that in June 2016, almost 10 years ago, the fair value of these assets was independently assessed at $235 million, well above today's book value of $194 million. With continued momentum and growth in the business, the potential upside in valuation for these assets is clearly significant, especially when we add the further development and enhancements to the sites, which are contemplated in our current DA application. In summary, the Board and management recognize the potential value that exists for the group's net assets well beyond what's reflected in the balance sheet. And we remain absolutely focused on driving business performance and initiatives to help unlock this value for shareholders. So with that, I'll now hand over to Greg to take you through the performance of our Theme Parks & Attractions business. largely related to the completion of King Claw, which opened in mid-December. As you can see, cash flows relating to this investment were comfortably funded from operating cash flows during the period. The group also completed its second on-market share buyback, for which the final $3.7 million was funded earlier in the half. And as Gary mentioned earlier, in December, the group renewed and increased its bank loan facility to $20 million. This facility remains fully undrawn to date and provides additional liquidity and funding flexibility for the group should it be required. As always, the Board continues to assess capital management options for the group's surplus cash, taking into account operating performance, future funding needs, and prevailing market conditions. Any decisions in this regard will be made with a view to maximizing long-term shareholder value. Turning to Slide 6. As Gary mentioned earlier, the group started the second half of the year with strong fundamentals and a solid financial position. On the 30th of December, the group holds cash of almost $38 million, remains debt-free, and owns fully unencumbered real estate assets. Looking at the balance sheet, you'll see consolidated net assets of $221 million at the end of the half, but this doesn't paint the full picture. Firstly, as Gary noted earlier, the group currently holds $134 million in available tax losses, for which I can confirm no deferred tax asset is currently carried in the balance sheet. Additional to this, the group has a further $47 million of tax-deductible temporary differences, which are also not reflected in the group's net asset value. Together, these items represent a combined tax benefit of $54.4 million, which remains off-balance sheet. As I've outlined previously, these items continue to be of great value to the group, as despite the conservative accounting treatment, they remain available for the use by the group in future years. Secondly, as noted in previous presentations, the group's accounts currently record Dreamworld and SkyPoint assets at historic costs, net of accumulated depreciation and impairments. As a reminder, back in December 2023, SkyPoint was independently valued at $37 million, almost $27 million above its current book value. Since then, SkyPoint has grown its earnings by a further 30%. Adjusting for these unrecognized tax assets and Skypoint valuation uplift alone shows an additional $81 million of potential value over and above the current net asset value, equating to a pro forma net asset position of around about $302 million or $0.78 per share. Note that these numbers do not include any additional benefit from the improved performance of SkyPoint since that last valuation in December '23, nor the material upside, which potentially exists for the Dreamworld site. While we haven't had an independent valuation of Dreamworld conducted for many years, it is instructive to know that in June 2016, almost 10 years ago, the fair value of these assets was independently assessed at $235 million, well above today's book value of $194 million. With continued momentum and growth in the business, the potential upside in valuation for these assets is clearly significant, especially when we add the further development and enhancements to the sites, which are contemplated in our current DA application. In summary, the Board and management recognize the potential value that exists for the group's net assets well beyond what's reflected in the balance sheet. And we remain absolutely focused on driving business performance and initiatives to help unlock this value for shareholders. So with that, I'll now hand over to Greg to take you through the performance of our Theme Parks & Attractions business.

Thanks, Jose. Good morning, everyone. I'm pleased to present another strong financial first-half performance from the Theme Park & attractions business in FY '26, building the momentum we saw in the second half of FY '25 following the opening of Rivertown in December last year. Importantly, we delivered results that were well above the second half of FY '25 and, interestingly, exceeded several FY '16 benchmarks, which represented the group's previous peak. This performance reflects the underlying strength of the business with further upside still to come, which I will discuss in more detail later in the presentation. Slide 8 features our latest addition to Dreamworld, King Claw. Launched on the 12th of December, King Claw is a high thrill attraction and the only intimate growing of its size in the Southern Hemisphere. It replaces its predecessor, the King Claw Vicor, which was already one of Dreamworld's most popular rides, and King Claw is 50% bigger, 50% faster, and significantly better in terms of the guest experience. The ride delivers up to 4.6 gs of force, reaches speeds of over 98 kilometers per hour, and swings riders 42 meters into the air, creating all sorts of incredible sensations, very similar to a high-speed fighter jet Maneuver and pushing the boundaries of what a thrill ride can deliver. King Claw was officially opened by our retiring Engineering Director, Adrian Summers, alongside some of our Australian directors, as well as the Vice President of Intimate Ride Manufacturer. The launch generated significant mainstream and social media coverage, boosting positive brand exposure. And I'm pleased to say that the attraction was delivered again on time and on budget. The early guest response has been very strong, and we believe the attraction was additive in driving increased new visitation and repeat visitation during the recent holiday period. With this addition, Dreamworld's ride and attraction portfolio is well positioned to continue to support visitation and engagement across a broad audience from families through to thrill seekers. Turning to Slide 9. And in September 2025, Dreamworld announced a strategic collaboration with Australian Geographic to boost brand awareness, strengthen Dreamworld's education business, and drive deeper guest engagement. This partnership launched Wild with Australian Geographic, a reimagined Wildlife precinct featuring immersive experiences and habitats for native species. This collaboration introduces a powerful new brand aligned with one of Australia's most trusted environmental voices. Importantly, Wild Roof reinforces Dreamworld's commitment to wildlife education, conservation, and the protection of Australia's biodiversity while creating more meaningful and engaging guest experiences. And as part of this offering, our country, a 360-degree immersive experience previously showcased at the World Expo in Japan, has established its permanent home here at Dreamworld, creating a deep connection to land, water, and sky. Our rebooted Wooshed Theater now delivers larger-scale curriculum-aligned presentations, supporting continued growth in our school group visitation, which is a critical part of the business. Slide 10 highlights a series of activations and events hosted at Dreamworld and at SkyPoint, and I'd like to call out just a few examples. The Dreamworld fund run in August set another new record for participant numbers and raised significant funds for local charities. This really is an exceptional event. If you haven't been and have the opportunity to experience it, you really should make the effort. Also during the Christmas period, we trialed extending our trading hours and introducing evening fireworks, giving guests something special to look forward to at the end of their day at our parks, and trying to drive further duration of stay. These initiatives are key to deepening engagement with our pass holders, encouraging repeat visitation, extending length of stay, and building long-term loyalty, resulting in increased lifetime value. Our event focus remains on ensuring that there's always something new and engaging for our guests and their families, whilst continually enhancing the overall guest experience. With all the initiatives I've just outlined, along with the sustained investment and the effort that we've put into the park over the past few years, we saw very strong daily attendance in the first half of FY '26. In fact, we achieved a new record daily attendance during the recent holiday period, significantly exceeding the levels seen at the time of Rivertown's launch in December last year and higher than anything that we've got on record. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and turning to Slide 11, you can see exactly that. Despite having a very large car park here at the front of Dreamworld, it reached capacity. On top of all, our team parking offsite, we had to open adjacent overflow parking to accommodate the demand. In theme parks, we're always true believers of the car park barometer. And as a measure of how busy the parks are, I must say this is a very pleasing milestone. On that same vein, on Slide 12, we want to talk about our guest scores. As you can see, our results remain strong, reflecting the successful rollout of new attractions over the past 24 months and our ongoing focus on the guest experience, even with materially higher daily attendance. And as I often say, it's very easy to keep our guests happy when the park isn't full, but with markedly increased attendance, it becomes more challenging. Despite this, we've still achieved excellent GRI scores, and I'd like to take a moment to thank all of our team, including back-of-house staff, our executive and leadership teams, who were out on the ground during the recent peak holiday period, ensuring the very best possible guest experience. Also on the slide, you'll see some very positive guest reviews from December during the peak season, which validates our consistent focus on the strategic policy priorities over the past few years. It's all about getting the basics right, delivering world-class attractions, and that's clearly starting to resonate with our visitors. Turning to Slide 13. The business delivered strong growth in the first half with multiple metrics now exceeding the first half '16 levels, reflecting the ongoing momentum from recently launched attractions and successful promotional initiatives. As Jose mentioned, this is a 53-week year, and therefore, the first half includes an extra week compared to the prior reported numbers. To enable a meaningful and accurate comparison, I will speak directly to the like-for-like 27-week basis for both periods. The key highlights: Dreamworld ticket sales were up 38% like-for-like, exceeding the first half of FY '16 levels. The year-on-year growth was driven by increased sales across all ticket types and particularly strong momentum in annual pass business. Total attendances increased 32% like-for-like, driven by strong domestic demand, and as mentioned, a new record daily attendance was achieved during the peak holiday period. Local market visitation has exceeded the first half, supported by a strong annual passholder base. And this has delivered higher repeat visitation with the in-park spend now surpassing first half FY '16 levels on both a revenue and a per capita basis. International visitation is recovering, albeit still well below historical levels. And while the international recovery for Australia is improving, Gold Coast inbound travel is still at 60% of the pre-COVID levels. And importantly, China's visitation is still only at 22% of the pre-COVID levels. Operating revenue reached $62.2 million, up 21.8% on a like-for-like basis, exceeding the first half FY '16 levels despite a higher proportion of annual pass holders, where the revenue is recognized over 12 months. Strong annual pass sales resulted in a deferred revenue balance of $21.8 million at 30 December 2025, up 42.8% compared to 24 December 2024, providing solid recurring revenues for the second half as these sales are progressively recognized. Total per capita was below the prior period on a like-for-like basis, partly due to increased repeat visitation and annual pass holder growth, which creates mathematical dilution, given guests typically visit immediately, but the tick in revenue is not seen until we recognize it over the course of the next 12 months. EBITDA, excluding specific items of $11.2 million, was the highest since the first half '16, up 107.7% like-for-like on the prior period. And I think an important stat is that the first half alone exceeded the full year result for FY '25 of $8.8 million. EBITDA margin improved 7.4 points, reflecting stronger operating leverage as we build scale. Overall, these results demonstrate continued improvement with Theme Parks & Attractions now delivering its seventh consecutive half-year of positive earnings. Slide 14 shows the last 12 months' performance to December '25, which represents the first full year of trading for Dreamworld since the opening of Rivertown in December last year and demonstrates strong underlying growth despite some disruptions in the second half of last year as a result of Tropical Cyclone Alfred. While Rivertown represents the largest single investment in recent years, it is the culmination of several years of disciplined execution of the group's strategic priorities that is now translating into measurable momentum at Dreamworld. We are optimistic that the recent launch of King Claw will drive further momentum into the second half. As shown in the charts, Greenworld ticket sales increased 28% on an LTM December '25 basis, up from 10.5% 6 months ago at LTM June '25. Greenworld visitation grew 28%, up from 15% at June '25, importantly, with guest satisfaction scores remaining strong. Dreamworld in-park revenue increased 23% compared to 17% previously, and the active pass order base increased 39% year-on-year, supporting a resilient and recurring revenue profile. As I've mentioned previously, these metrics provide a more direct indicator of underlying business performance compared with revenue, which, as we talk about regularly, can be masked by annual pass revenue recognition timing. Pleasingly, New South Wales and Victoria markets continue to deliver steady growth, supported by increased interstate marketing spends. And finally, as already discussed, the continued recovery of international markets remains a meaningful medium-term opportunity for the business. Slide 15 shows that positive momentum has continued into the second half. Despite cycling a strong comp following the 1-year anniversary of Rivertown's opening and an unfavorable timing impact from the 53-week year with a 1-week shift in the current period, January 2026 still delivered growth. To ensure a meaningful comparison, I will refer to our like-for-like performance when discussing year-to-date January results. Year-to-date, Greenworld and White Water ticket sales are up 34% on the prior period, with year-to-date total divisional visitation up 28%, supported by the opening of King Claw in mid-December 2025 and continued growth in the annual passholder base. Year-to-date revenue increased 22% compared to the prior period, exceeding year-to-date January 2016. The deferred revenue balance in January 2026 remained solid, up 36% on the prior comparative period. Year-to-date EBITDA, excluding specific items, was up 90% on a PCP basis, the highest since January 2016. And SkyPoint once again has delivered year-to-date revenue and EBITDA that is the best on record. The performance to date suggests that our investment in new attractions and continued focus on safety and the guest experience are clearly resonating with our guests. As always, the current trading position should not be taken as a guide to future performance. And that said, the second half will be cycling, as we've outlined, a comparative period that includes Rivertown, and as a result, it is reasonable to expect that some more moderate growth rates may occur over the first half. In addition to the above, we have also made the decision to close one of our iconic thrill rides, the Motor Coaster. Motorcoaster, which was launched back in 2007, has been a high-octane guest favorite for nearly 2 decades. Guests had their final chance to experience the ride on the 1st of February 2026, and management is currently evaluating strategic options following the ride's closure. We'll provide further updates on this in due course. Turning to Slide 16. And in August, we announced a joint initiative with Network 10 and Endemol Shine Australia to host Big Brother at Dreamworld, including building a brand-new house on site. For many, this is nostalgic as Big Brother was a critical part of Dreamworld's entertainment offering many years ago, reinforcing our legacy as a destination for tourism and for entertainment. The show premiered on the 9th of November and has since become Network 10's biggest reality TV show since 2023, and its biggest ever show on streaming, captivating hard-to-reach younger demographics and delivering significant national exposure and enhancing Dreamworld's brand visibility. Our guests also had the opportunity to catch glimpses of the live filming and the new house during their visits, driving broader park visitation and engagement. In addition, catering, merchandise sales, and some post-production access to the Big Brother House provided new and incremental revenue streams. We're also excited to announce a landmark partnership with the Australian Olympic Committee, appointing Dreamworld as the official theme park partner of the Australian Olympic team. Through this partnership, we will proudly support both the Australian teams at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, where we saw a fantastic result this morning, and the [DAA] 2026 Youth Olympic Games later this year. To mark the partnership, we will host a major media and stakeholder event at Dreamworld next week on the 17th of February, including a live Olympic watch party bringing together athletes, partners, and key stakeholders. Importantly, this partnership extends across Dreamworld, WhiteWaterworld, and SkyPoint, creating opportunities for athlete engagement, community celebrations, and Olympic theme experiences across the group. This collaboration not only reinforces more brand visibility to Dreamworld and engagement with key audiences but also demonstrates Dreamworld's commitment as Australia's largest theme park to supporting Australian sports and community initiatives. Turning to Slide 17. And as previously disclosed during our AGM, the Queensland Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning issued a statutory calling notice regarding the group's development application back on the 27th of October 2026. As a result, the minister will now assess and determine the application in place of local counsel. The statutory process is ongoing, and we expect the minister's final decision prior to the end of this financial year. As matters currently stand, the group has not made any decisions or commitments regarding the proposed use of the land should the application be approved, and the Board will continue to assess all options to maximize shareholder value. We'll provide updates to the market as information becomes available. But before we open for questions, let me just try to pull all this together. While we are very pleased with the momentum, our focus remains on 3 things: firstly, protecting the core. Running this business well each and every day is the most important way we maintain this trajectory. Secondly, with sustained performance, we believe some of the unique pockets of value not reflected in our balance sheet can be realized, specifically the utilization of deferred tax assets and a more accurate reflection of asset values, given the significant impairments booked post 2016. And lastly, we are moving closer to a resolution on unlocking the value of our land holdings with a decision expected by the end of the financial year. The investment thesis remains straightforward. We have a profitable, debt-free business, which is starting to now deliver significant operating leverage. We've got iconic assets carried well below fair value and significant unrecognized tax benefits. And we have a proven track record now of delivering capital projects on time and on budget, and we expect meaningful upside still to come from our international recovery. While we are pleased with the momentum, there is not one iota of complacency sitting in here. We are still not at historical earnings, and that remains our clear goal. Our approach remains highly disciplined. Our team is executing very well, and we are resolutely focused on continuing to build long-term value for shareholders. That concludes the main part of our presentation, and I'll now open up the lines for questions.tay, and building long-term loyalty, resulting in increased lifetime value. Our event focus remains on ensuring that there's always something new and engaging for our guests and their families, whilst continually enhancing the overall guest experience. With all the initiatives I've just outlined, along with the sustained investment and the effort that we've put into the park over the past few years, we saw very strong daily attendance in the first half of FY '26. In fact, we achieved a new record daily attendance during the recent holiday period, significantly exceeding the levels seen at the time of Rivertown's launch in December last year and higher than anything that we've got on record. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and turning to Slide 11, you can see exactly that. Despite having a very large car park here at the front of Dreamworld, it reached capacity. On top of all, our team parking offsite, we had to open adjacent overflow parking to accommodate the demand. In theme parks, we're always true believers of the car park barometer. And as a measure of how busy the parks are, I must say this is a very pleasing milestone. On that same vein, on Slide 12, we want to talk about our guest scores. As you can see, our results remain strong, reflecting the successful rollout of new attractions over the past 24 months and our ongoing focus on the guest experience, even with materially higher daily attendance. And as I often say, it's very easy to keep our guests happy when the park isn't full, but with markedly increased attendance, it becomes more challenging. Despite this, we've still achieved excellent GRI scores, and I'd like to take a moment to thank all of our team, including back-of-house staff, our executive and leadership teams, who were out on the ground during the recent peak holiday period, ensuring the very best possible guest experience. Also on the slide, you'll see some very positive guest reviews from December during the peak season, which validates our consistent focus on the strategic policy priorities over the past few years. It's all about getting the basics right, delivering world-class attractions, and that's clearly starting to resonate with our visitors. Turning to Slide 13. The business delivered strong growth in the first half with multiple metrics now exceeding the first half '16 levels, reflecting the ongoing momentum from recently launched attractions and successful promotional initiatives. As Jose mentioned, this is a 53-week year, and therefore, the first half includes an extra week compared to the prior reported numbers. To enable a meaningful and accurate comparison, I will speak directly to the like-for-like 27-week basis for both periods. The key highlights: Dreamworld ticket sales were up 38% like-for-like, exceeding the first half of FY '16 levels. The year-on-year growth was driven by increased sales across all ticket types and particularly strong momentum in annual pass business. Total attendances increased 32% like-for-like, driven by strong domestic demand, and as mentioned, a new record daily attendance was achieved during the peak holiday period. Local market visitation has exceeded the first half, supported by a strong annual passholder base. And this has delivered higher repeat visitation with the in-park spend now surpassing first half FY '16 levels on both a revenue and a per capita basis. International visitation is recovering, albeit still well below historical levels. And while the international recovery for Australia is improving, Gold Coast inbound travel is still at 60% of the pre-COVID levels. And importantly, China's visitation is still only at 22% of the pre-COVID levels. Operating revenue reached $62.2 million, up 21.8% on a like-for-like basis, exceeding the first half FY '16 levels despite a higher proportion of annual pass holders, where the revenue is recognized over 12 months. Strong annual pass sales resulted in a deferred revenue balance of $21.8 million at 30 December 2025, up 42.8% compared to 24 December 2024, providing solid recurring revenues for the second half as these sales are progressively recognized. Total per capita was below the prior period on a like-for-like basis, partly due to increased repeat visitation and annual pass holder growth, which creates mathematical dilution, given guests typically visit immediately, but the tick in revenue is not seen until we recognize it over the course of the next 12 months. EBITDA, excluding specific items of $11.2 million, was the highest since the first half '16, up 107.7% like-for-like on the prior period. And I think an important stat is that the first half alone exceeded the full year result for FY '25 of $8.8 million. EBITDA margin improved 7.4 points, reflecting stronger operating leverage as we build scale. Overall, these results demonstrate continued improvement with Theme Parks & Attractions now delivering its seventh consecutive half-year of positive earnings. Slide 14 shows the last 12 months' performance to December '25, which represents the first full year of trading for Dreamworld since the opening of Rivertown in December last year and demonstrates strong underlying growth despite some disruptions in the second half of last year as a result of Tropical Cyclone Alfred. While Rivertown represents the largest single investment in recent years, it is the culmination of several years of disciplined execution of the group's strategic priorities that is now translating into measurable momentum at Dreamworld. We are optimistic that the recent launch of King Claw will drive further momentum into the second half. As shown in the charts, Greenworld ticket sales increased 28% on an LTM December '25 basis, up from 10.5% 6 months ago at LTM June '25. Greenworld visitation grew 28%, up from 15% at June '25, importantly, with guest satisfaction scores remaining strong. Dreamworld in-park revenue increased 23% compared to 17% previously, and the active pass order base increased 39% year-on-year, supporting a resilient and recurring revenue profile. As I've mentioned previously, these metrics provide a more direct indicator of underlying business performance compared with revenue, which, as we talk about regularly, can be masked by annual pass revenue recognition timing. Pleasingly, New South Wales and Victoria markets continue to deliver steady growth, supported by increased interstate marketing spends. And finally, as already discussed, the continued recovery of international markets remains a meaningful medium-term opportunity for the business. Slide 15 shows that positive momentum has continued into the second half. Despite cycling a strong comp following the 1-year anniversary of Rivertown's opening and an unfavorable timing impact from the 53-week year with a 1-week shift in the current period, January 2026 still delivered growth. To ensure a meaningful comparison, I will refer to our like-for-like performance when discussing year-to-date January results. Year-to-date, Greenworld and White Water ticket sales are up 34% on the prior period, with year-to-date total divisional visitation up 28%, supported by the opening of King Claw in mid-December 2025 and continued growth in the annual passholder base. Year-to-date revenue increased 22% compared to the prior period, exceeding year-to-date January 2016. The deferred revenue balance in January 2026 remained solid, up 36% on the prior comparative period. Year-to-date EBITDA, excluding specific items, was up 90% on a PCP basis, the highest since January 2016. And SkyPoint once again has delivered year-to-date revenue and EBITDA that is the best on record. The performance to date suggests that our investment in new attractions and continued focus on safety and the guest experience are clearly resonating with our guests. As always, the current trading position should not be taken as a guide to future performance. And that said, the second half will be cycling, as we've outlined, a comparative period that includes Rivertown, and as a result, it is reasonable to expect that some more moderate growth rates may occur over the first half. In addition to the above, we have also made the decision to close one of our iconic thrill rides, the Motor Coaster. Motorcoaster, which was launched back in 2007, has been a high-octane guest favorite for nearly 2 decades. Guests had their final chance to experience the ride on the 1st of February 2026, and management is currently evaluating strategic options following the ride's closure. We'll provide further updates on this in due course. Turning to Slide 16. And in August, we announced a joint initiative with Network 10 and Endemol Shine Australia to host Big Brother at Dreamworld, including building a brand-new house on site. For many, this is nostalgic as Big Brother was a critical part of Dreamworld's entertainment offering many years ago, reinforcing our legacy as a destination for tourism and for entertainment. The show premiered on the 9th of November and has since become Network 10's biggest reality TV show since 2023, and its biggest ever show on streaming, captivating hard-to-reach younger demographics and delivering significant national exposure and enhancing Dreamworld's brand visibility. Our guests also had the opportunity to catch glimpses of the live filming and the new house during their visits, driving broader park visitation and engagement. In addition, catering, merchandise sales, and some post-production access to the Big Brother House provided new and incremental revenue streams. We're also excited to announce a landmark partnership with the Australian Olympic Committee, appointing Dreamworld as the official theme park partner of the Australian Olympic team. Through this partnership, we will proudly support both the Australian teams at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, where we saw a fantastic result this morning, and the [DAA] 2026 Youth Olympic Games later this year. To mark the partnership, we will host a major media and stakeholder event at Dreamworld next week on the 17th of February, including a live Olympic watch party bringing together athletes, partners, and key stakeholders. Importantly, this partnership extends across Dreamworld, WhiteWaterworld, and SkyPoint, creating opportunities for athlete engagement, community celebrations, and Olympic theme experiences across the group. This collaboration not only reinforces more brand visibility to Dreamworld and engagement with key audiences but also demonstrates Dreamworld's commitment as Australia's largest theme park to supporting Australian sports and community initiatives. Turning to Slide 17. And as previously disclosed during our AGM, the Queensland Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning issued a statutory calling notice regarding the group's development application back on the 27th of October 2026. As a result, the minister will now assess and determine the application in place of local counsel. The statutory process is ongoing, and we expect the minister's final decision prior to the end of this financial year. As matters currently stand, the group has not made any decisions or commitments regarding the proposed use of the land should the application be approved, and the Board will continue to assess all options to maximize shareholder value. We'll provide updates to the market as information becomes available. But before we open for questions, let me just try to pull all this together. While we are very pleased with the momentum, our focus remains on 3 things: firstly, protecting the core. Running this business well each and every day is the most important way we maintain this trajectory. Secondly, with sustained performance, we believe some of the unique pockets of value not reflected in our balance sheet can be realized, specifically the utilization of deferred tax assets and a more accurate reflection of asset values, given the significant impairments booked post 2016. And lastly, we are moving closer to a resolution on unlocking the value of our land holdings with a decision expected by the end of the financial year. The investment thesis remains straightforward. We have a profitable, debt-free business, which is starting to now deliver significant operating leverage. We've got iconic assets carried well below fair value and significant unrecognized tax benefits. And we have a proven track record now of delivering capital projects on time and on budget, and we expect meaningful upside still to come from our international recovery. While we are pleased with the momentum, there is not one iota of complacency sitting in here. We are still not at historical earnings, and that remains our clear goal. Our approach remains highly disciplined. Our team is executing very well, and we are resolutely focused on continuing to build long-term value for shareholders. That concludes the main part of our presentation, and I'll now open up the lines for questions.

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from Sami Hosain from Barrenjoey.

I've just got a couple of questions. You've obviously had a great start to the year, probably partly cycling through weaker weather last year. But how do you feel about the remaining months and, in particular, the Easter school weather period?

Look, we're still very confident about the rest of this financial year. We have called out, and I think it's just reasonable to do so, that we're up against a more difficult comp. We had Rivertown in the numbers, and we're up against that because we've got to now cycle what a much better product than what it was previously. So that's on our minds. As we've called out, there was a one-off impact last year in relation to ex-tropical cyclone Alfred. I think at the end of the day, the way that we think about that is it's really a negligible change. Whilst we had a closure of the past, there was some economic stimulus that the government or the local council assisted with. And at the end of the day, we look at that and essentially net it off. And so you're right, there was some weather last year, although there was some upside stimulus that offset that. But overall, if I think about the destination and how that's going, we still feel very positive about that. All the leading indicators that we're seeing in terms of aviation, in terms of hotels, are doing all the right things. There are no huge concerns on our end around that. And again, I think what gives us some comfort is the work that we've done to really build the annual pass holder base, which really does support our momentum into the second half and beyond. And that's for a number of reasons. Certainly, there's just a clear opportunity as we reflect, recognizing more revenue as a result of a higher deferred revenue balance. But I think as I've outlined on a number of occasions, the most important thing for us around annual pass holders is that it creates a weather hedge to offset any risks around weather, but it also, really importantly, in our minds, means that if we win in annual pass in the local market, it really does help our further flung visitation. If you think about it in this way, if you have VFR visitation coming from New Zealand and their friends and family here in the Gulf Coast hold a Dreamworld annual pass, I think the likelihood of the propensity that those guests visiting Dreamworld versus other things on the Gold Coast is much higher. And so with all those things in mind, we still feel very positive about the second half. Your picture around the weather is noted, but we think it's largely offset.

And the cost base ticked up quite a bit in the first half. Do you feel that with the new areas and attractions launched, there may be a more fixed cost leverage moving forward?

Yes. I think at the end of the day, it's natural that as we add new products, there's an incremental level of cost that comes with that. And I can assure you that we do everything we can to reduce that. Some of it is just that there's a period of time in the numbers where we don't have the cost in. So, for example, during construction, we're not maintaining or gardening and looking after the common areas of some of these elements of the business. And we also make a saving on the prior period when we're not operating these attractions. And as they come online, there are certainly incremental costs as a result of that. At the same time, the thing that I'm particularly focused on is making sure that we retain a proprietorial approach to costs on an ongoing basis. And you've heard us labor on about that now for several years, so I don't propose to go into that again. But I would say this is as we build scale, we also see the importance of making sure that we have a culture that actually goes after revenue as well. And what I often worry about is that we have a very, very tight cost culture outside of things like safety. That can sometimes be incongruent as attendance comes on for us, chasing revenue. And I think over the December and January holidays, we did a very good job of not letting that creep into our culture. And we invested additional labor and additional costs purely to try to drive incremental revenue, and I think we did just that. So it remains a focus. We see it will moderate. There are no new significant attractions planned for the second half or the first half of next year. And as a result, we don't see significant upticks other than activity-based costs that come with additional attendance. And I think you know that we're very, very focused on making sure that those are very prudently managed.

Last question is, can you also comment on how Dreamworld is valued in the NTA of $0.78? We understand that this is book value, but would there be any up-to-date valuation?

Yes. I might hand over to Jose first to just give you the high level on that, and I can add some color if need be.

Yes, on Slide 6, the numbers that I've got there, obviously, the NTA number of $221 million is basically the book value that you see in the financial statements. The uplift that we've outlined for SkyPoint is based on a valuation from 3 years ago. I did note that the EBITDA performance of that business has actually increased by 30% since then. So we could probably reasonably expect that it would be somewhat higher now. For Dreamworld, no, we haven't undertaken a valuation for a number of years, as I said in the remarks earlier. At the moment, as you know, we're going through a DA application process with the minister. That whole process has the potential to materially change the valuation. So our present position is that there'd probably not be much utility in going out and getting a valuation today because it's probably going to change in 6 months. So we are engaging values, and we're starting discussions, and it is our intention to get updated valuations done, but we prefer to wait until we get the outcome of that DA process to firm up that position a bit better. But suffice to say, when you look at the 10-year-old valuation, that's still materially above where our current book value is today, noting, of course, that the book value is the historical cost. It's what we paid for the assets and not what they were today, and also obviously, net of impairments and depreciation, too.

Your next question comes from Allan Franklin from Canaccord.

Just want a bit more detail on the attendance, please. It does look like you've been driving hard for market share, and the local audience is engaged, given that sort of parcel account. Any sort of anecdotes, please, in terms of the audience that you're drawing in, demographic discussion point there? Do you have any data points in terms of how long you may have lost that audience? And obviously, I assume you're regaining them from competitors as opposed to being a new audience completely to your offer or to a theme park offer?

Good question. So look, as we've outlined, a lot of it, to be fair, is coming from the local market, and we've reflected on, I think, all of the reasons why that's important. But it is fair to say, and I think I mentioned it earlier, that we have seen growth in all of the markets, and we've been particularly pleased to see growth in the New South Wales and Victoria markets after what has been a pretty torrid time post-COVID in terms of getting those markets back up to the Gold Coast. So that comes from a number of different reasons. We've, as I outlined, committed more marketing dollars in those interstate markets. And I think what I would say is that we've had, potentially, as an industry, a really heavy focus on disintermediation when we think about how we sell tickets in the market. I would say that, potentially, we went a little too far in that regard. And we've seen, I think, some really strong results from our ticketing partners in terms of growing some of those southern and further flung markets. Now our approach will always be that if we can sell a ticket ourselves, we don't want anyone else to sell it for us and then share in the profit of that. But where we think a partner can sell a ticket that we otherwise would not or where we don't believe that the risk or the cost of acquisition makes sense for us to go after, then we really do believe that there's a place to be had for those ticketing partners. And so we've seen it across the board. Look, in terms of the demographics and who they are, look, we're still absolutely focused on the family segments. And if you look at all the work we've done over the last several years, it's been fundamentally around trying to drive family. Now, King Claw, I recognize there's an outlier to that. And I've called out for a number of presentations now that King Claw was something that we are really happy to have done, but I'm not necessarily sure we would have done it if we didn't have some externalities that drove that decision around the age of the ride and our view of the world as to how likely we were to be able to retain it in its former form. So King Claw has brought in a different segment in terms of thrill. Our real approach here is to make sure that we have enough thrill to make sure that we don't give teenagers in the family group a reason to suggest that they would like to go otherwhere in other places, and we want the whole family to come and enjoy the park. And at times, what we see is that parents stick with the younger kids, and then the teenagers go off and do their own thing. And so it's important to have a breadth of attractions that caters to that. In terms of visitation of people coming back and also new visits, look, it's a bit of both. There's absolutely a piece of work that we're doing here around trying to regain trust, get the business right, recover attendance, and then, over time, improve margins. And so we have seen a lot of guests coming back to the park for the first time in a long time. And I can tell you that the ongoing mantra in the business over the last 6 or 7 months has been, as we see what is pleasing in terms of higher attendances, we've got a job to do to make sure that as these people come back to the brand, they come back and have a really great experience. And there's nothing worse, I think, than having a guest that hasn't been for 12 or 13 years coming back and having a terrible experience. And again, that's why I'm so pleased with the guest service scores. As I've outlined, very easy to look after guests on a quiet day. I would say one thing is that it's a difficult experience in the park on a quiet day. You don't have the same use of the word vib as you do on a busy day. But at the same time, as a guest, you can just walk on to every attraction, and it's a fantastic experience. When it's much busier, there's usually a significant change in terms of guest sentiment. And what we've been very pleased to see is that as we've seen significant enhancements in attendance, we've not only maintained, but we've increased our guest satisfaction scores, and I think that's absolutely crucial to the story here.n significant enhancements in attendance, we've not only maintained, but we've increased our guest satisfaction scores, and I think that's absolutely crucial to the story here.

I was going to put a question on pricing, but I might pause on that. Just with the motor coaster, obviously, a pretty prominent location where that stands. Constant, you touched on this a little bit already, but perhaps just reflecting on the attractions mix that you already have and the mix between family and thrill, how should we be thinking about that sort of space, and/or what might be missing in the offer at the moment?

I suppose that might tend towards the capital allocation question. So let me say this, we're not ready to talk about what we're looking to do in that area other than to say that the comments that we've made in the past around the quantum of investment that we put into Rivertown is not on our minds to do in the next several years. There's absolutely a need for us to continue to invest in the Theme Park business going forward. If that's something that investors are not aware of, then they really should do the due diligence on that because this is a business that requires investment. But at the same time, it's our responsibility to make sure that the investment that we put in is prudent, and we can deliver returns as a result of that. And so for us, putting a lot of catch-up capital into the business over the last few years has really given us cause to pause for a moment, and this really makes sure that we can see the returns coming through from those investments. And we're starting to see that now. So with Motor Coaster, we're just unfortunately not ready to say anything for competitive reasons just yet. It's certainly at the forefront of mind for management and the Board. And as soon as we do have an announcement to make around what we're doing there, we'll certainly make it.

One last quick one. Gross margin dynamics, it looks like, there are a couple of periods, 3 or 4 periods, worth a decent trend there. And I think 85% margin is looking fairly steady and fairly firm, which is great. Any comments on the gross margin or how we should think about that? And just as a secondary piece, I guess, that incremental drop-through was the best that we've seen in a little while at sort of 50-ish percent. What do you see as any levers to improve that incremental drop-through, please?

Look, I think, and you've heard us, as I mentioned, it wasn't that long ago. It feels like anyway to Jose and I that we were talking about the road to breaking even. And now we're in a situation where we're starting to see some meaningful scale. And as scale comes on, you start to see this quite significant operating leverage and cash generation that is typical of these kinds of businesses. As we've outlined in the past, one of the real challenges we had with what is a very fixed cost business is that when we were struggling really for attendance and revenues, and I'm not suggesting by any stretch that we're happy with where we are yet. We've still got some ways to go. But we really did operate with what we coined as diseconomies of scale, where we just couldn't take the cost base much lower than where it was. And we really did feel that as we grew revenue and attendance, that would start to generate this operating leverage we're seeing. Our view is that as we continue to see more scale, that will only get better and better. And it just comes across the board. We get increased purchasing power with our vendors, and we have more optionality to drive some of our very high-margin in-park businesses. To give you a very latent example, if you think about our Ride Express business, it doesn't go very well when the parks aren't busy. And when the parks are busy, you see a significant enhancement in performance there. It's a very, very strong business in terms of the net margins that we generate from areas like that. And you see that across the board in other areas of experiences that we do, things like cabanas, animal experiences, et cetera. They are all beneficiaries of increased scale. So our view is that as the business continues to scale up, we should see ongoing enhancements to operating leverage, and that would obviously support this margin expansion that we're looking at. The other thing I'd say is the ticketing situation over time, we do believe that we'll continue to look at opportunities to take price. It's really about us making sure, and I've said this in the past as well, it's about having the right strategy at the right time. And there's no secret at the moment that's a very difficult consumer market, if you look out there and particularly retail, and we're very studious of retail because we're a discretionary spending business as well. It's not easy for the consumer out there. And so for us, we're about trying to make sure that we meet the market around value, but also that over time, we continue to get real value for the investment that we're putting into the business. So we expect that there'll be continuing efforts to expand the margin over time. But really, I want to stress the point that we want to do that in a methodical and really considered way. And I've called out where it can go wrong. I think the Six Flags experience in the U.S. is that very case where I think the thesis around we should be achieving significantly more for a ticket to the business has made sense, but the execution and the speed and rapidity of that execution really just causes all sorts of issues in that business and a complete degradation in terms of revenue and thereby earnings. And so for us, we do see opportunity, but we're very keen to make sure it's a very considered and again, methodical approach to how we're going to build it over time. Jose, do you want to add anything more to that?

Yes. Look, just a couple of comments. When you're looking at gross margin, just in terms of the timing of the cost part of that versus the revenue part. Obviously, when you're selling goods in food and beverage retail in the park, the revenue and the costs are pretty much incurred at the same time. And so they match off, but as you know, with our entry revenue, a very large proportion now relates to annual passes. So there is a little bit of a lag there in terms of the revenue. We're only in the first month that somebody buys an annual pass, and we're only recognizing 1/12 of that revenue. So I think over time, you'd expect that when you start to see the full value of that annual pass come through over that 12-month period, that obviously then tends to help gross margin as well as EBITDA margin a bit as well. Yes.

Your next question comes from Spencer Wright from Kobywright.

My first question is regarding WhiteWater World. Is it correct to infer that WhiteWater World did not generate positive EBITDA in the half? Was it close to breaking even? And do you see any potential growth in that business? Also, I think WhiteWater World turns 20 in December this year. Will there be a reduction in depreciation expense in FY '27?

Okay. I might start off there, Spencer. So we don't provide granular performance on WhiteWater World versus Dreamworld independently of each other. What I can say is that we're very happy with the performance of WhiteWater World. Look, at the same time, we've been concerned about our operational performance at WhiteWater World and making sure that it's a good experience. Clearly, the annual pass holder, particularly, is a very, very strong water park visitor as well. And so we spend a lot of effort and investment to try to make sure that the guest experience is markedly improved at Whitewater. And we've seen the benefits of that, both in the guest scores, but also, I think, in terms of stronger performance in terms of our in-park spend. As I outlined earlier, too, some of the areas of the business particularly perform well when they scale up. And so we have a business called Slight Express at Whitewater World, and that did particularly well over the holiday period. And I think we've managed to balance the guest experience there. Obviously, it's a difficult proposition at times when you've got people walking past other people in the line to get to the front. But I think we've done a reasonably good job of managing that to ensure that we deliver a good guest experience, but also see stronger performance out of that business. So overall, we're happy with White Waterworld where it's going. We've outlined that we're continuing to assess optionality around what we would do in terms of attractions at WhiteWater World. There are 2 things on our mind. One is lead time. And two is making sure that we look at the right product to do the right things for us there. And in the past, we've looked at attractions at White Waterworld that I've stated publicly, I was not convinced were the right things to put into that park at that point in time. And so at the moment, we've got a very diligent approach to how we think about new products, and we don't propose to change that. We want to make sure that we get it right, and that's a very considered approach, a very methodical approach with all aspects of the business. We want to sell tickets for sure, but we also want to make sure that, from a safety perspective, it's the right thing to do. We want to make sure also that it does all the right things in terms of what we're trying to do in that park, and that's really about trying to increase capacity and throughput. And so there are 2 arms to that. One is potential new attractions, and two is making sure that the operating business that we have there as it is today is running the best it possibly can run. On the depreciation question, I might hand over to Jose.

Hi, Spencer, yes. Look again, as per Greg's comments, we can't talk about White Waterworld in isolation. But when we look at the Theme Park operation as a whole, we've actually spent a lot of capital over the last 24 months or so, which has increased the book value of the assets. So that points to an increase in depreciation rather than a decrease. I think what we've added to Dreamworld will drive that depreciation expense upwards. The other thing that could also have a bearing on depreciation is the value of the assets. So the Dreamworld assets, as I've mentioned, are shown at historic cost in the balance sheet, but net of impairments. So several years ago, we had to write down those assets quite considerably. And as the performance of the business increases, there is the potential to reverse some of those impairments in the future. I'm not going to speculate how much and when, but suffice to say that the current depreciation expense that you see in the profit and loss account reflects the current lower impaired asset value of the business. So, to the extent that we reverse impairments on the balance sheet, that could have a slightly increased impact on depreciation.

And maybe just because Spencer, I really want to make sure that we're certainly not trying to be evasive in our answers. And so let me just give you this, that part of the reason we don't report Dreamwater and WhiteWaterpool independently is that we don't allocate costs in that nature as well. So we don't charge central costs across those independent businesses. We look at them as one thing. But what I would say is this, if I were to speculate as to whether Whitewaterwilp was to be earnings accretive over the half, it absolutely would be. There's no doubt in my mind about that. And I would say, similarly, that's why we continue to have the view that operating the water park outside of these warmer months is actually negative and an impairment on earnings. So our view is we're running it in these operating windows for the right reasons. We think that's where we can demonstrate and create the most value. We absolutely don't want to run it in times where it is going to generate losses. And I think it's very hard to run a water park anywhere in Australia, to be frank with you, through winter and for that water park to be washing its space. And so maybe that will give you more color than we otherwise would have been able to give.

You've also made some comments regarding the drill market. I'm going back a bit of a way here. The speech in the 2002 AGM confirmed that the #1 reason people visited Dreamworld was the thrill rides. And Dreamworld subsequently significantly grew its thrill ride lineup with the big thrill ride campaign for well more than a decade. Do you see that as the thrill segment as a potential upside for Dreamworld and future development? Is it too difficult to compete with Village on that front now? And is that why you're maybe a bit hesitant to go after that market that did so well for us?

No. Look, well, firstly, I haven't looked at the 2002 annual report or the remarks of late, but I can tell you that we do a lot of soul searching and looking back at the more healthy periods prior to 2016. And we certainly have looked at the period, maybe not that far back, but in that intervening period, around how much of a draw the thrill market was to the park. Certainly, there were elements of the advertising campaigns around Big 9 and other things like that that were very strong in the market. But when we look at the evidence, and we look at the feedback that we were seeing in our guest sentiment surveys and things like that back in those days. Moreover, to give you a bit of an insight, we actually had interviews and discussions with management at those times. Their view was that, look, we really did sell the dream on thrill, but it wasn't actually central to what we were seeing in terms of attendance. Not only is that the feedback we've received anecdotally from management back then, but also from what we're seeing in terms of survey results. But when we look at the new attractions that were implemented and the resultant changes in attendance, it appears to us that it wasn't as significant as what it was before. Now, all I would say to you is this is as we think about the mix of attractions that we put into the property, we're looking at a whole range of different elements. We're certainly looking at the local market. In my mind, it's completely unreasonable to go and put something to our parks that someone else already has. And so you won't ever see us do anything like that. We're also looking at the existing mix of our park and what we've got, and we're looking at that in terms of -- one of the fundamental things we're looking at is in terms of rider height and the type of attraction that we would have where we think we've got a gap in our ride lineup. And we're also looking at what the broader market is doing internationally as well. I think that's not be an endor, but it's also important for us to keep an eye on what different groups are doing around the world and then also what feedback we get from our vendors as well. So I don't want to suggest in any way that we're not looking at thrill as part of our future or not. We've certainly been very focused on family, and that is a big part of what we're looking to do. But I don't want to suggest to you that we are or are not in that business going forward. I do think that if we choose to be, we will be competitive, and we'll give it a red-hot go wherever we go. But at this point in time, we're very open-minded, and we don't want to make any firm commitments. We want to do the work and make sure that the next significant attraction that we do, which is still some time away, is the right thing at the right time for our business.

In relation to deferred revenue, that was up quite a bit. That's good to see. When you sell vouchers like a $50 voucher with your annual passes, are those vouchers treated as deferred revenue as well? Or are they recognized differently? And if a guest redeemed a voucher and you incur the cost of goods sold, is there a recognition of that part of revenue immediately? Or is that also deferred, and we incur COGS, but not necessarily the full revenue benefit?

Let me start with that, and then Jose will give you the technical response to that as well. But the answer is it depends on the duration for which the voucher has been given in terms of its expiry date. So if a voucher was released today and it was due to expire by the end of June, will it be recognized within that period? If it were a 12-month voucher from now through to the end of February next year, well, then certainly, we would recognize the value of that voucher over that period of time. Jose, did you want to add to that?

Yes, yes, sure. So, at the point, taking an example of selling an annual pass, for example, with a $50 F&B voucher, we would normally split out the value of that F&B voucher from the entry component of the pass, but both of those are on day 1 are both put into deferred revenue and the entry component is gradually recognized over the 12-month period. The $50 food and beverage voucher component in my example would be used as that voucher is used in the park. So when somebody turns up and wants to buy food with it, that portion of revenue that they spend on the voucher will then at that point in time, will be recognized as revenue. And obviously, the cost of goods sold will be recognized at the same time. So there is a direct match in that respect. As Greg mentioned, often when we sell these or give these vouchers as part of the package, they do have an expiry date. So to the extent that we get to the end of the validity period of a voucher, if there are unused components remaining in deferred income, which people haven't used within Park at that point, then we would recognize those as revenue because under the accounting standards, we don't have anything further to deliver. They've expired, and we can recognize the unused portion.

Essentially, it's about the performance obligation. And let me just go straight to -- I'm sure a follow-up question is, well, what does that look like? Well, I can tell you this is that we want to make sure guests get the value out of their vouchers. And so we do everything we can to communicate with guests that the voucher is coming up to a close, and we do everything we can to try to get them to use their vouchers and get the value. In our mind, there's no benefit to seeing breakage. We want to see people get every ounce of value because again, as we've called out, we're about lifetime relationships with our guests and lifetime value. And it's very clear that the propensity for people to renew and stay in our ecosystem is really fundamentally driven by the amount of time that they come back and have a good experience at the park.

Sorry, one more. When we've got a large deferred revenue, as I said before, and you've said, how do annual pass holders behave compared to one-off visitors in the park? I mean, do they spend a little bit less every time they visit because it's not a one-off? I mean, what's the frequency? You might not want to tell me that. But can you tell me a little bit more about that to just see what the value of that really high deferred revenue is?

Great question. And to Jose's point, really, what you're seeing in the revenue there is almost all ticketing revenue. There's not a lot, I think, in terms of commercial vouchers. Let me go to your question around the typical behavior of annual pass holders. And this is an area, I think, that we're really at pains to talk about because there is a heuristic, and I think it's a furfie to be frank with you, that a visitor from New South Wales or Victoria is more valuable to us than an annual pass holder because they spend more in the park. And my perception on that is that's potentially true if you were to use accounting and look at the per capita spend per visit, because I've got a New South Wales or Victorian visitor that comes here for 1 day and they spend x amount in food and retail or games. And there's our number. And if I've got an annual pass holder that visits on a number of occasions, and that can be anywhere from they've come once to they've come close to 10 times. Incrementally, every time they visit, if you aggregate that spend, it is higher than what you get out of a single visit from a New South Wales or a Victorian or other fast-lung guest. And so for us, we think about it around net revenue that we get from an annual pass holder. And so for us, independently of each individual visit, it is a lower per cap. But if you take the net revenue that we receive off an annual pass holder over the course of their pass, it is significantly higher than what it is out of a single visit from a 1-day or even a multi-day pass guest. In terms of the trends and how they typically spend, I would say this is a typical thing. It does differ. But our approach to it and what we see usually is that people come in early in the life cycle of their pass and they spend reasonably well. It's novel, it's new, and they're looking to really have a good experience. As they come more often through the middle parts of their pass, their spending isn't as high as it was at the start because they're looking to, they'll get an ice cream. They might get some confectionery for the kids, but they're probably not looking to get that T-shirt or that flush toy that they initially got at the start. And then, as we see people approach the end of their pass, we see an uptick in spending again as they look to potentially close out their pass. Our focus is on making sure that they stay with us and they renew. We've talked about that, and I'm not going to go into the fine details of the renewal numbers. Suffice to say that our renewal performance today is materially better than what it was 3 or 4 years ago. And so for us, we're looking at all sorts of levers to drive propensity to revisit and propensity for them to stay with us. And sometimes that means that we're using levers in our commercial business, so food and retail to drive those visits. And that's not something that's unusual. I think it's pretty common, I think, in mainstream retail, and we're trying to take some of that thinking into what we're doing in the theme park business as well.

Can I just ask a clarifying question on that, or maybe a further question on that? I can't remember the exact number, but if it's $20 million or $22 million, whatever it is for services, because that's your ticket or your ticket price. I mean, they might get Express Parcels, perhaps. But would you expect that to double? Is $20 million worth $40 million in revenue over a 12-month period, $50 million, or $30 million? How can you explain that to me?

I think the answer is we can't. We don't really provide that kind of guidance. I can just say to you at a very high level, we see the value of an annual pass holder, and I think I've kind of expressed this as material. I've been in organizations, and I've heard from other organizations, not just in Australia but internationally, where they say that an annual pass holder is almost a bit of a trouble for the business. They come in, they erect the joint, and all this kind of stuff. We have a very different view. We love annual pass holders. They're a critical component of what we do. And that's not just because we've got warm feelings about them, because they are absolutely accretive to earnings. And I've outlined why that is around the weather hedge. I've outlined, I think, why it's important for us in terms of what they do around BFR guests that come to the Gold Coast, if someone in the family has already got a Dreamworld pass, I think they're much more likely to stay with us. So for all those reasons, Spencer, we think that it's a critical part of what we do. I just can't give you a number as to what we think the spend would be as a result of what the deferred revenue balance is. We just don't really go into that kind of detail.

Your last question comes from Nick McGarrigle from Barrenjoey.

I don't know if this has been covered, but I'm looking at the trading update for the January financial year-to-date and to reconcile the growth rates that you had in the first half versus the year-to-date, which presumably to the end of Jan, does it imply that attendance was down year-on-year in the month of Jan by itself and maybe revenue was only modestly up on last year? Just trying to get a handle on that and then dive into the reasoning.

I can say to you that's not the case. Jose might give you a bit more color there, but certainly, attendance wasn't down, and neither was revenue in January. Jose, do you want to go into that in any more detail?

Only to say that there's obviously the first half, as we mentioned, is a 27-week half. That week 27 is the week. So the last half year-end was ended on the 24th of December. That additional week is probably one of the busiest weeks of the year between Christmas and New Year. That shift last year was in the month of January, but this year it is in the month of December. So there is a bit of a timing shift. But no, in answer to your question about January, is attendance down? The short answer is no. If you're trying to compare the year-to-date performance for January versus the year-to-date performance for December, I think probably the best way to do that would be to look at the like-for-like numbers rather than the statutory numbers, because that is comparing 32 weeks up to the end of January this year versus 32 weeks rather than what we reported last year is 31 weeks. So it is purely like-for-like. I think that would be much better. And you'll see that the percentages when you compare them on a like-for-like basis are a lot closer, albeit that they are slightly lower on the January year-to-date. As we mentioned, we're cycling the opening of Rivertown, and we do expect some of those growth rates to moderate a little bit in the second half.

Yes, the weeks, I guess, particularly the weekend question makes quite a big difference. And then just in terms of where you're at in the cost base, obviously, there'd be some increases related to supporting some of the new attractions and areas. This question may have been answered, but just around fixed cost leverage moving forward, do you feel like the cost base is set to the point that it needs to be? And from here, it's really the variable is peak seasons and cost of goods sold on in-park spend?

Look, I think the trouble with it is that I don't want to give you any guidance. But I would say this is that as we've added new attractions, that brings new activity and incremental activity regardless of whether those attractions work or not. So that's just part of the challenge of running these businesses. The activity-based incremental spends that we see are, in our minds, the right things to do to try to chase new revenue. The other thing that I would say that you can probably sense in our numbers here is that there's a degree of us spending more in the marketing space. That really is, and I've talked about this in the past as well, to say, look, I've been hesitant to want to commit more marketing in the past because I just didn't feel that we had a product that was worthy of committing significantly more marketing than what we had in the past. We've got a different view today. That doesn't mean that we're out there just blazing away, far from it. But what it does say for us is that we're looking very, very closely at our performance metrics in the marketing space. And if we can commit more marketing dollars that demonstrate strong ROAS as a result, then we're looking to do that. And so we're constantly testing to see what else is out there in terms of upside opportunity. So it's one of the things that I would say the only area that I would say that we're particularly potentially adding more costs to is marketing, but I just want to really stress the point that it's not about kind of brand campaigns. It's not about engaging crazily expensive influencers around that. It's absolutely performance-based additions in spend. And if we see that they work, we want to go after them and commit more. If we're not seeing performance, then we absolutely retreat and look to redeploy assets elsewhere. So hopefully, that helps you a little bit in terms of how we're thinking about costs.

I guess I'm just trying to map that you've printed pretty obviously kind of record levels of revenue. EBITDA is still catching up, but it's kind of there's some cost inflation from 2016; 10 years later, a lot of things cost more. But potentially, you're also spending a bit more on marketing to drive admissions and some of the revPAx gains that we've had in the last few years, you've given up on discounting on past prices.

Yes. I think the other thing I'd say is that your point made about -- I think there's absolutely some inflationary changes in the cost base compared to 2016, just more generally, but also the cost of compliance is materially different to what it was back in 2016 for all the right reasons. I would say this is that that's moderating now. And I can tell you that we've seen some quite significant increases in costs around the safety and engineering space over the last 8 or 9 years, particularly. The last thing I think any holder would want to hear is that we're starting to take that away, but I would say this is that those costs are moderating. And so we're starting to find, I think, what is a reasonable level there. A lot of the work that we've been doing in terms of upgrading new attractions around safety systems and things like that, that is starting to come towards a close, and we don't expect the same level of investment intensity in those areas going forward. But again, it's a big site, or they are big sites, water park included, complex. And typically, there are complex and quite significant assets here. And if we have a particular issue with one asset, well, then that may necessitate quite a lumpy spend to try to look after it. So, probably just a little bit more color to help you with it as well.