Aim to hit pre-pandemic footfalls by end of year: Wonderla MD

By Pallavi Dubey | NT

Bengaluru: The pandemic rained heavy losses down on Wonderla Holidays, which reported a net loss of Rs 9.28 crore in the second quarter of the financial year and Rs 15.8 crore in the first. The company is planning its comeback and hopes to hit pre-pandemic numbers by the end of the year.

“Wonderla has managed to survive better than others due to significant cash in its books,” says Arun K Chittilappilly, Managing Director, Wonderla Holidays Ltd. “The company is ready with investments worth Rs 500 crores to set up small-size parks and resorts, along with taking over some debt-burdened theme parks across the country.” Wonderla Holidays is bullish about the Chennai project, and was hoping to put its investments, raised through internal accruals, into expanding the Tamil Nadu venture. “We’re looking at that right now, the ongoing project in Chennai will be as big as the existing Wonderla Holidays park in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi, where the capacity is around 10,000,” said Chittilappilly.

Share prices have managed to climb back up to old highs, after the market crash in March last year and the lockdown led to the closure of their theme parks. As of February 11, the company’s shares were trading at Rs 213.70 apiece. On that day in 2020, the shares were worth Rs 233.74. Share price plummeted to Rs 104.94 in May 2020 but has managed to recover after that.

They are currently witnessing around 70 to 80 percent footfalls, a cause for optimism, according to Chittilappilly, as pre-Covid numbers were 90 percent. They suffered a Rs 50 crore loss after theme parks were made to reopen and shut down multiple times due to the volatility of the Covid-19 situation.

The company’s focus is now on improving safety measures, studying shifts in consumer behaviour and implementing online strategies to bring back customers who are cautiously stepping out of their homes again.