Dolphin Cove posts 250% more profit
DOLPHIN Cove more-than-doubled its net profit during the three months ended June 30, 2011 when compared to the corresponding period last year.
The marine park attraction posted net profit of $71.1 million for the review quarter compared to $20.5 million a
year earlier.
The increase in profit reflected a near-trebling of profit at its Ocho Rios marine park, coupled with profit from its Hanover site, which began operations last August.
Dolphin Cove also operates tours at the Prospect Plantation near Ocho Rios, St Ann and a small dolphin lagoon at Half Moon in Rose Hall, St James, but that segment of its business returned a small loss ($400,000) compared to a $6.3 million a year earlier.
Operating expenses for the three- months comparable periods were higher by 19 per cent due to increased selling efforts and the hiring of new executives in operations and finance.
The company’s capital base as at June 30, 2011 stood at $1 billion up from $618.7 million a year earlier.
Importantly, the company said that its accounts receivables, which totalled $174.6 at end-June 2011 was “is in accordance with our normal experience and better (lower) in terms of sales at June 30, 2011 than at June 30, 2010”, as the pattern of operations historical showed that “the months leading up to June are more active than the months leading up to December in each year”.
The attraction operators project that the upcoming cruise season will see additional ships docking in Falmouth while the berths left vacant in Ocho Rios by the relocation of Royal Caribbean ships to Falmouth are already being booked by other cruise lines such as Norwegian Cruise Lines.
“The high cost of fuel is resulting in the cruise industry planning shorter cruises to closer destinations from the US such as Ocho Rios, Falmouth and Montego Bay,” said the company in its outlook of the industry.
“Our breeding programme continues to be successful and the two oldest of the five dolphins born in Ocho Rios have been trained and now participate in our entertainment programme. The reopening of the Bog Walk Gorge will enable travelling from Kingston to Dolphin Cove much easier. Notwithstanding signals of impending downturns of the economies of the US and Europe, we consider tourism in Jamaica to be a mature and sustainable industry and we will continue to invest in it,” added the company.
