gretel
22 May 2018
Excellent AGM update today with a "strong" start to the year. You can't ask for anything more at this stage, with "the early signs being good".The partnership with Marriott Hotels is good news, as is the expansion of Ingresso into the USA:[link]
gretel
13 May 2018
RNS: Kames Capital buying and above 5% Friday night's RNS shows Kames Capital increasing to above 5% from 4.27%, so they've been one of those buying in all that recent volume:[link]
gretel
01 May 2018
Merlin and Six Flags both positive Good to see that Merlin have issued a positive trading update which has been well received by the markets.That means Six Flags, Cedar Fair and Merlin have all issued good Q1 trading statements recently::[link] after their forecast-beating Q1, Six Flags held their usual conference call. No mentions for ACSO, but plenty of optimism and lots of emphasis on global expansion and likely acquisitions of more water parks and theme parks:[link]
dontlikenicknames
30 Apr 2018
TE2 [link] bought more ACSO......the future is wearable.
gretel
30 Apr 2018
ACSO and Carnival Cruises Excellent recent article about the introduction of the Ocean Medallion on Carnival Cruises - the inevitable initial bugs will be dealt with, but this is the future of cruising. Carnival plan to have it on all their Princess ships and then presumably over time on all the rest.Remember that the Ocean Medallion was developed by TE2, which just so happens to be an ACSO subsidiary following its acquisition. :[link] Carnival, Padgett and his team quickly set out to create Carnival’s own version of the Disney MagicBand, called the Ocean Medallion. It uses AI to take the MagicBand technology to another level. Instead of just alleviating the “friction” of typical travel experiences (lines, room keys, paying for things) it will use data to anticipate what you want to do, eat, and see.“The premise behind the creation of MagicBand was to change how guests experienced their vacation, not what they are experiencing,” Padgett says. “I had this hypothesis that you could maximize guests’ experiences by personalizing the experience, to increase the value of the experience while simultaneously decreasing friction so they can experience more.”It’s like what Uber did for black cars The Medallion, offered first on Carnival’s Princess cruise line, is about the size of a quarter. You can keep it in a pocket or handbag, or buy accessories like sports bands or lanyards so that the token can be worn as a bracelet, necklace, or pendant. It’s similar to the MagicBand in that it has information on you even before you step on the ship. It facilitates boarding and cuts down on wait times. It can be used to pay for things on the cruise, it unlocks the door to your room as you approach, and can be used on the ship-wide gambling platform. Carrying the Medallion means the staff knows your name and where you are. If you order a drink, they can come find you to deliver it. If you go to another bar on board, the staff already knows what you like. The Medallion also updates your information, keeping track of your likes and dislikes, what activities you enjoy, and what you consume. It anticipates other activities you’ll enjoy and the side trips you’ll want to take. The Medallion promises the sort of personalized vacation millennials crave, and what passengers on the Love Boat always somehow seemed to get. Padgett says this level of service is normally available at only the most expensive hotels and spas, but the technology has the potential to democratize it for the masses. “It is similar to what Uber did for black cars,” he says. Technology, especially AI, is normally presumed to replace people and face-to-face connections. But the Medallion does something different. Instead of replacing personal connections between passengers and human staff, the technology is being used to turbo charge those connections. Ideally, Padgett says, vacationers will feel known by crew members they just met. “Our goal is for technology to disappear in the entire equation and empower next level human interactions.”Harder than it looks Donald announced the Medallion with much fanfare in a keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last year, and he and Padgett greeted the first Medallion customers aboard the Regal Princess in November 2017. But the rollout is going very slowly. So far, the technology is only available on one ship to select customers. Carnival CEO Arnold Donald holds up the Ocean Medallion wearable for cruise ship passengers, during his 2017 keynote at CES in Las Vegas A passenger on one of the first Medallion-powered cruises wrote in a review on CruiseCritic.com that she had to upgrade her room to become eligible for the Medallion, and found the technology to have limited functionality and its share of bugs. That said, “Macusr” remains excited about the technology, writing on CruiseCritic.com that “we still got a thrill
gretel
25 Apr 2018
Peel Hunt reiterate Buy and 3100p target today:[link]
gretel
25 Apr 2018
Six Flags introduce 3 more Chinese theme parks More good news - ACSO will presumably provide all the ticketing and queueing systems for these as for Six Flags......[link] More Six Flags Parks Coming to ChinaBusiness Wire•April 24, 2018Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (SIX), the world’s largest regional theme park company, and its development partner, Riverside Investment Group Co. Ltd., today announced continued growth in the China market with the planned addition of three new branded parks. The parks will be located in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province and the second largest city in the East China region. Six Flags Nanjing will offer guests a full range of world-class experiences with a theme park, waterpark, and an adventure park. The first phase of the multi-million dollar entertainment complex is expected to open in 2021.“This is another exciting step for Six Flags and Riverside as we introduce our unparalleled brand of innovative thrills to even more of China’s population,” said Six Flags International Development Company President, David McKillips."
gretel
25 Apr 2018
Great news from Six Flags last night Six Flags announced after the close they'd had a record performance in this Q1:[link] Start to 2018 at Six FlagsBusiness WireApril 24, 2018Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (SIX), the world’s largest regional theme park company, today announced that revenue for the first quarter of 2018 increased by $29 million or 30 percent from the first quarter of 2017 to a record-high $129 million. The revenue growth resulted primarily from a 27 percent increase in the number of guests visiting Six Flags parks, and the success of both the company’s pricing strategy and international licensing program. Attendance at Six Flags properties grew by 0.5 million to 2.4 million guests. This increase was driven by additional operating days from Six Flags Magic Mountain moving to a 365-day calendar; Hurricane Harbor Mexico being open in the first quarter, while not open in the first quarter of 2017; adjustments to park operating schedules due to the earlier timing of the Easter holiday; and additional attendance due to the company’s higher Active Pass Base, which represents the total number of guests who have purchased a season pass or who are enrolled in the company’s membership program.“We are firing on all cylinders as we made excellent progress in the quarter against each of our five growth initiatives,” said Jim Reid-Anderson, Chairman, President and CEO. “With our record-high Active Pass Base, ongoing price increases across all ticket and culinary programs, growing dining pass penetration, new water park openings and new international licensing agreements, we are poised to deliver another record year of financial performance in 2018. We remain laser-focused on exceeding $600 million of Modified EBITDA1 in 2018 and continue to work toward our long-term aspirational goal of $750 million of Modified EBITDA by 2020.”etc"
donna blitzen
24 Apr 2018
Re: N+1 Singer raise target price to 2453p N+1 Singer are still well behind other broker's target prices though.
gretel
24 Apr 2018
N+1 Singer raise target price to 2453p N+1 Singer have today significantly INCREASED their target price to 2453p (from 2181p).They've also increased their 2018 revenue and PBT forecasts by 5% and 4% respectively. This increase is less than they originally anticipated, as they've been conservative since Queueing was flat in 2017 due to abnormal weather conditions and limited visibility of sales momentum in the recently acquired businesses.It's good that Singer have been conservative, since any sort of reasonable weather this year could lead to quite a strong beat of expectations.On the other hand. the prudence has presumably led to a few small sales this morning. The markdown seems completely out of proportion to the tiny volumes today.And it also ignores the substantial increase in the target price due to the forecast upgrades, with commentary about robust ticketing growth and "significant opportunities in multiple verticals/geographies", with acquisitions fulling growth and transforming ACSO into a "broad-based provider of customer experience management solutions".
gretel
24 Apr 2018
Re: D Telegraph recommendation. Hi donna,Would you mind telling me who the other companies mentioned were?If you could copy here the text relating to ACSO that would also be appreciated!Cheers.
donna blitzen
22 Apr 2018
D Telegraph recommendation. ACSO is one of 5 tech companies picked out by the D.T. in Saturdays edition as being good growth investments. Very probably the best of the bunch, imv, as the others I knew little of and don't find them that appealing.
gretel
19 Apr 2018
Universal very keen on Tapu Tapu device This new interview, with the creative producer in charge of the guest experience at Universal Orlando Resort, confirms Tapu Tapu is "getting better and better" and is the future of theme parks/attractions:[link] "Siggelkow: How are you using the information you’re gathering from your guests to think about new attractions or amenities? Merz: Universal has opened their third theme park in Orlando. It’s a water park called Volcano Bay, and it’s a full-day resort experience. We introduced a new RFID wristband that every guest gets as they come into the park. The park has a tropical theme to it, and the wristband is called Tapu. It has a longer-range, two-way communication and a little screen on it. For guests, this wristband personalizes their day to the attractions that they want to go see. Unlike FastPass or other types of ride wait-time systems, this one responds in real time to the rides you want to go on. You’re free to enjoy your day as you’d like, and the band will tell you when your ride is ready to go or if your ride is available sooner than you had planned. You’re not spending your day waiting in lines. You’ve expressed your preferences upfront. The system knows that, monitors that and creates a hassle-free experience. It was a big challenge for Universal to do this, and it took an army of very technical people to sort through the logistics of how to manage such a large group of people in real time. The experience just keeps getting better and better as they learn more and refine the algorithms that direct people. Terwiesch: How do you find out about guests’ needs? Merz: In a lot of these experiences, you can infer certain data. But for the most part, when guests are going to a park, they’re very deliberate about the types of experiences they want. Even with this technology, there are multiple ways that guests can express their interests. They can go through the Universal app. They can engage with the team members when they arrive, and the team members have different tablets that they can update preferences with. The nice thing about it is that as soon as the guest is identified, the system can immediately present to the team members previous information about this guest in a very quick, digestible manner. The team member can respond in a more personalized way rather than having to ask a whole bunch of questions about their day. The team members can see it all on a dashboard.“The wristband is called Tapu Tapu. It has a longer-range, two-way communication and a little screen on it.” –Eric Merz In the theme park industry, there has been a challenge in providing guest service. If you compare the experience of actually being in a park versus the process of planning a vacation — all of those online clicks and selections are tracked. That informs the website on how to respond and offer up the right information. The more guests are engaged in that online process, the more we get to know those guests so we can offer up things that would be of interest to them. It’s a really dynamic, one-to-one interaction. Contrast that when they get to the theme park. After they’ve had this really rich, personalized experience, they get into the parks and they’re anonymous to the operators. They’re just people coming through. As much as through customer service and training you try to create those human moments and engage with them, you still don’t know enough about them. That’s where, as an industry, we’re hoping these technologies allow us to know more about the guests as they approach, as they engage in our attractions, as they engage with the team members directly. etc"
gretel
10 Apr 2018
Six Flags: further overseas expansion More international expansion for Six Flags, this time into Saudi Arabia - should be good for ACSO:[link] Expansion Continues with Six Flags-Branded Park in Saudi ArabiaGRAND PRAIRIE, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (SIX), the world’s largest regional theme park company, and the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, today announced plans to develop a Six Flags-branded theme park in the city of Riyadh.etc"
gretel
08 Apr 2018
RNS : BlackRock buy and go above 10% [link]
