October 25, 2001
Sandusky, OH -- Cedar Fair, L.P. (NYSE: FUN), a publicly traded partnership which owns and operates six amusement parks and five water parks, has again been designated a "Dividend Achiever" by Mergent, formerly the Financial Information Services division of Moody's Investors Service.
Each year Mergent compiles its list of Dividend Achievers from more than 11,000 companies in its U.S. equity database. In the 2001 survey, Cedar Fair was among only 289 companies identified as having an outstanding record of increasing cash dividends annually for at least the last ten years.
Richard L. Kinzel, Cedar Fair's president and chief executive officer, noted that the Partnership recently increased its annualized distribution rate 5% to $1.64 from the $1.56 rate paid over the past four quarters, continuing a string of increases that dates back 14 years to 1987 when the Partnership's units first became publicly traded. The new rate represents a cash yield of 8.5% based on the NYSE closing price of $19.30 on October 15.
"We are extremely proud to be recognized as a Dividend Achiever," said Kinzel. "The long-term objective of our Partnership from the very beginning has been to distribute as much free cash flow to our limited partners as possible. Our track record of more than tripling our cash payout over 14 straight years of distribution increases has delivered a lot of value to our unitholders."
Cedar Fair's six amusement parks are Cedar Point, located on Lake Erie between Cleveland and Toledo; Knott's Berry Farm near Los Angeles in Buena Park, California; Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom near Allentown, Pennsylvania; Valleyfair near Minneapolis/St. Paul; Worlds of Fun, located in Kansas City, Missouri; and Michigan's Adventure near Muskegon, Michigan. The Partnership's water parks are located near San Diego and in Palm Springs, California, and adjacent to Cedar Point, Knott's Berry Farm and Worlds of Fun. Cedar Fair also operates Knott's Camp Snoopy at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota under a management contract.