Owner of Alton Towers, Merlin Entertainments, say The Smiler crash that happened in June this year may affect profits by up to £47 million.
With the theme park temporarily closing due to four people being seriously hurt, the owners said the accident had “an adverse impact on trading” at the beginning of the summer trade.
Figures show that profit for Alton Towers are likely to be somewhere in the region of £40 million and £50 million, comparted to £87 million the previous year.
Even though the pre-tax profit would be “broadly in line” with figures posted last year, this hasn’t stopped shares dropping more than 7% to 392p.
Chief executive of Merlin, Nick Varney said that significantly reducing marketing activity for its UK theme parks was appropriate following the accident.
The company added: “We have committed to support those injured as best we can and implemented additional safety protocols to be sure that a similar accident will never happen again."
On a positive note, Merlin Entertainments who also own attractions such as Madame Tussauds, Legoland parks and Sea Life saw its visitor numbers up 200,000 to 27.7 million.
