A later Easter holiday this year than in 2018 has affected Six Flags Q1 results, with the theme park company saying that some 200,000 guest visits will instead be included in Q2 figures.

Its revenue in Q1 2019 was US$128m (€115m, £99.4m) and attendance was 2.2 million guests – both down on Q1 2018 by US$1m (€900,000, £780,000) and 189,000 guests. However, guest spending per capita has risen, driven, says Six Flags, through its success in upselling guests from single day tickets to higher-priced memberships.

Guest spending per capita was, in fact, at an all-time high, at US$48.48 (€43.56, £37.66), as was its Active Pass Base, which includes all members and season pass holders. This increased by 5 per cent year-on-year.

The firm's adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was a loss of US$32m (€28.76m, £24.86m), which is an increase of US$13m (€11.68m, £10.1m) on Q1 2018, caused primarily by the timing of Easter, as well as incremental lease and other costs associated with the five new US parks that Six Flags acquired in June 2018, and which were not, therefore, part of the business in the first quarter of that year.

Chair, president and CEO Jim Reid-Anderson said he was pleased with the Q1 2019 performance as "strong membership penetration continues to be a key driver of our long-term growth strategy, providing both a platform of increasing recurring revenue at higher prices and the ability to further grow attendance".

He added: "With our record-high Active Pass Base, ongoing price increases, growing dining pass penetration, and both domestic and international expansion opportunities, we are well-positioned to deliver our tenth consecutive year of record financial performance in 2019."

Six Flags Entertainment is the world's largest regional theme park operator and the largest operator of waterparks in North America, with 26 parks across the US, Canada and Mexico.