Attendance at Universal Orlando plummeted during the second quarter of the year, but deep cost-cutting helped the resort boost overall profit by nearly 30 percent.
Universal said Thursday that it earned $27.1 million during the three months ended June 28, up 29 percent from the same period last year.
The gain came even though attendance for the quarter dropped 14 percent from a year ago and sales fell 11 percent to $215.7 million, which Universal blamed on the global economic downturn.
A key factor: Universal slashed operating costs by nearly 17 percent about $33 million in total — to $164.4 million. Nearly half of the savings came from reduced spending on marketing and other management-imposed cost-cutting initiatives.
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