Chairman of Australian theme park and cinema operator Village Roadshow, John Kirby, has said that despite the downturn, most of its businesses are performing better than expected.

Trading at the group's Gold Coast theme parks - which include Warner Bros Movie World, Wet 'n' Wild Water World and Sea world - for the first quarter was strong and ahead of budget.

Its attractions businesses in Sydney - such as Sydney Tower, Sydney Wildlife World and Sydney Aquarium - have also delivered strong first quarter results "off the back of increased domestic visitation driven by creative marketing initiatives such as the outstanding 'Sponge Bob visits Sydney Aquarium' campaign for the July school holidays".

Speaking at the company's AGM, Kirby said: We are very pleased with the continuing strength of our theme parks, especially considering the current economic climate." He added: "Theme park ticket sales through our MyFun online portal are running at nearly three times what we have currently budgeted."

Kirby also outlined the company's sustainability projects: "We are making progress on a number of fronts," he said, "whether building a dam to support our water usage plan on the land we own behind Warner Bros Movie World, or the conservation efforts at Sea World Research and Rescue Foundation, Sydney Wildlife World Conservation Fund and Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Adventure and Underwater World in Auckland. And many other efforts besides. We don't crow about these things, we just get on and do it."