Merlin Entertainment remains on track for profit growth

(ShareCast News) - In a brusque pre-close statement, Merlin Entertainment said it expected to report "good profit growth" for the full year in line with expectations, revealing a strong Halloween for its resorts but hinting at more soft trading at some other segments.The theme parks owner said underlying trading in the 47 weeks to last Saturday in its 'Midway Attractions' division had remained consistent with the performance it reported in September.At that time, the FTSE 250 group said that difficult trading in London was impacting performance in the division as a whole, with like-for-like trading down 0.4% but total sales up almost 10% thanks in part to currency moves.Apart from some soft trading in Legoland Florida, the rest of the Legoland parks were said to have shown "continued positive momentum following two years of exceptional growth".The resort theme unit enjoyed a strong Halloween period, helped by favourable weather.Management reported good progress towards its long-term targets, including the opening of Legoland Dubai on 31 October and Madame Tussauds Istanbul on 28 November.With the company's shares down 0.7% to 433.3p after the first 45 minutes of trading on Tuesday, analyst Nicholas Hyett at Hargreaves Lansdown said the weak pound was "failing to cast a spell over Merlin's London attractions. Lower visitor numbers to attractions in the capital, such as Madame Tussauds and the London Dungeons, impacted performance over the summer. The trend seems to be continuing in the run-up to Christmas."On the upside, he pointed out that Merlin's long term future is not based on its historic London footprint but further afield: "The roll-out of attractions around the world continues, and while increased security concerns may be dampening city centre demand at the moment, we don't think it alters the long-term appetite for what Merlin has to offer."