Merlin Entertainments profits rise by 35%

Merlin EntertainmentsMerlin Entertainments has recorded a 34.6% rise in pre-tax profits during its first full year of public ownership.

The boost, which which slightly above analyst expectations, was put down to the effect of the Lego film released last year.

Merlin is boosting its Legoland attractions portfolio, with new parks in Asia in the planning and construction stages.

The company’s chief executive Nick Varney said that such levels of growth would be hard to sustain in the next year, with the next film not released until 2017.

Despite the news of growth, shares in the company were 1.17% down when the London Stock Exchanged closed on Thursday.