Dreamworld shares tumble as coroner hands down report

Nervous investors had wiped millions from Dreamworld’s parent company before the coroner handed down his findings in another financial hit to the company three years after the tragedy.

PANICKED investors have wiped $110 million from Dreamworld’s parent company Ardent Leisure Group following a scathing report into the 2016 tragedy which claimed four lives.

Ardent Leisure shares fell as much as 18 per cent yesterday morning as coroner James McDougall handed down his long-awaited report into the Thunder River Rapids ride disaster.

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They recovered slightly to close 16 per cent lower at $1.18.

Ardent has taken a multimillion-dollar hit to its bottom line in the three years since the Thunder River Rapids disaster.

Low ticket sales coupled with $6.2 million in direct costs following the 2016 tragedy has delivered successive years of losses and an ongoing cost to Ardent Leisure Group.

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, which killed four people, Ardent recorded an $88.7 million loss in valuation and trading at Dreamworld and White Water World.

Ardent Leisure Chairman Gary Weiss addresses the media during a press conference at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast.

Yesterday morning nervous investors offloaded shares prior to the scheduled delivery of the coroner’s report.

Burrell Stockbroking Senior Research Analyst Bruce McLeary noted Ardent’s share price fell about 10 per cent prior to the findings being released.

He said while the company’s shares had taken a hit, he tipped they would recover.

“It’s going to be negative press for them but given time you would expect them to come back,” he said.

Mr McLeary said the inquest found nothing “surprising”, with most matters raised having already been fixed since the 2016 tragedy.

The stockbroker said Dreamworld was a large part of Ardent Leisure Group’s portfolio, but noted the “growth engine” remained its Main Event Entertainment business in the United States.

An aerial view of Dreamworld and WhiteWater World

Ardent’s shares hit a 52-week low of 0.910 in October last year before recovering to $1.63 last month.

Prior to the October 2016 disaster shares in Ardent, which at the time had more assets, sat around $2.70.

Shares in Dreamworld’s competitor Village Roadshow Limited, which owns Movie World, Sea World and Wet and Wild, yesterday closed 1.5 per cent lower at $3.80.

Buoyed by talk of a takeover, Village Roadshow shares have remained around the $3-$4 mark in recent weeks, Mr McLeary said.

“It (the coronial inquest) should affect them less than Ardent because they’re only associated, in the same industry,” he said.