SeaWorld Entertainment Accelerates Buyback, Postpones Dividend

SeaWorld Entertainment Inc SEAS said Tuesday it will accelerate its buyback program and postpone its fourth-quarter dividend until January.

The move comes after the theme park company fired its chief executive on December 11 and announced an unspecified number of job cuts at its 11 theme parks.

SeaWorld, which went public in 2013, has seen its shares drop more than 46 percent year-to-date, and about 5 percent since last Friday.

SeaWorld attendance and financial performance suffered this year in the wake of animal rights concerns regarding the treatment of killer whales.

The company said Tuesday it will purchase up to $14 million in shares during the remainder of 2014 under a previously announced $250 million buyback that had been set to commence Jan. 1.

The company can spend a maximum of $15 million in dividends and buybacks during the remainder of 2014 under previously disclosed debt covenants

Covenants reset January 1, leading to the dividend postponement, SeaWorld said.

SeaWorld named David F. D'Alessandro interim chief executive on Thursday, replacing 48-year-old James Atchison who served as CEO since 2009. Atchison was named vice chairman.

The company also said Thursday it will cut "some positions" in a restructuring of its 11 theme parks in a restructuring that aims to centralize some operations, cut redundancies and increase efficiency.

The restructuring announced Friday is part of a previously announced effort to cut costs by $50 million by the end of 2015.