The virtual reality entertainment specialist in Salford, Immotion Group, has reported that its first-quarter trading was more than twice as strong as the previous year. It also announced the expansion of its operations in the US, UK, and Manchester.
The group released a trading update ahead of its annual results. The first quarter’s revenue was around PS2m, which is more than twice the PS0.8m expected in 2024. Its location-based entertainment (LBE) revenue was around PS1.8m, compared to PS0.6m for the same period last.
March revenue was around PS1m due to the US spring break and increased capacity at Mandala Bay’s Mandala Bay facility.
Immotion anticipates that its underlying financial results in 2024 will be EBITDA of approximately PS0.9m, on a total revenue estimate of PS9.4m.
The company has increased its operations by signing new partner locations in the core LBE Division, which entails 24 additional seats.
You can find new sites at:
- Akron Zoo in Ohio, USA – Immotion installed a six-seater installation at Akron Zoo. The attraction will be open on April 16, 2024.
- Seattle Aquarium, Washington, USA – Operation began in March.
- Sea Life Manchester – Manchester joins the Sea Life venue installation family with six seats under a three-year agreement.
- New Aquarium site in the USA. This week, the company signed and completed the installation of a six-seat mini theatre. Operations are scheduled to start later in the month, subject to certification by the state. The three-year contract covers this. The state certificate will not allow the site to be named.
- Sea Life London – In addition to the new signings, Sea Life London has also signed a three-year contract. This will allow the site to expand its capacity to 16 seats in a mini-theater-style installation. This deal will bring Immotion into peak summer with twice the capacity as last year.
- This will increase the number of seats installed at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in America to 42, including the additional capacity at Shark Reef Aquarium and Odysea Aquarium.
- After these installations, the company will now have 402 headsets operating across 49 locations.
- Immotion, which launched its Gorilla Trek immersive experience at IAAPA last November, is now in advanced negotiations with several major zoos. It says it will announce “some significant additional signings” within weeks.
- Martin Higginson, the chief executive, stated that the company’s progress had been made by delivering EBITDA of approximately PS0.9m on revenue of PS9.4m, compared to PS2.8m revenue and an EBITDA loss of PS1.7m in 2020.
“Trading has been suitable in this first quarter, particularly in our location-based entertainment company. We are confident of solid year-on-year growth with unaudited group revenue for the first quarter of 2024 exceeding twice that of the previous year. It’s great to add 24 more headsets to our portfolio and to have reached the 400 mark.
He said, “The rollout of our Gorilla Trek experience to zoo partners has been well underway. With several theatre-style installations in the wings, we are confident that the zoo marketplace and other prospects will help move us closer towards the 500 headset mark.”
Rod Findley, the commercial director group, said that “With our aquarium offerings, we have carved ourselves into a category where we believe we’re the market leader.”
“Our immersive films give our partners the opportunity to educate and entertain their customers in an innovative way while also driving significant additional revenue.” This model is being introduced to the international zoo market.
