Branson Convention Center’s earnings fall in Q3

The Branson Convention Center posted earnings of $23,025, a 95 percent decrease compared with $463,257 in profits a year earlier.

Revenue during the three months ended Sept. 30 came to $1.2 million, a 31 percent drop from $1.7 million a year earlier, according to data presented this week to the Branson Board of Aldermen.

However, compared with the convention center’s third-quarter budget, actual numbers beat expectations.

Earnings were $141,803 ahead of projections, and revenue beat budget by $37,895, according to a city report.

Third-quarter highlights:
    •    An estimated 12,266 people attended the Branson Convention Center during the three-month period.
    •    The per capture rate - total revenue divided by attendance - was $94.59 per person.
    •    Forty-eight groups attended the center, down from 50 in third-quarter 2015.

The convention center has been recognized as a loss leader, meaning the center attached to a Hilton hotel isn’t designed to turn big profits, but it drives revenue elsewhere. A 2011 study found the center’s annual economic impact was roughly $16 million. The center has posted net losses each year since opening in August 2007, according to Springfield Business Journal archives. The city-owned convention center is managed by West Conshohocken, Pa.-based SMG.

Year to date, the center’s net income was down 380 percent to a net loss of $306,683 as of Sept. 30. Revenue decreased 13 percent to $3.1 million during the first nine months of the year, according to the city report.