Merlin Entertainments confident after strong post-summer trading

Reuters
The London Eye is seen near the Houses of Parliament at dawn in central London October 21, 2013. REUTERS/Toby Melville

LONDON (Reuters) - Merlin Entertainments, the British operator of Madame Tussauds waxworks and Legoland, said Halloween events and warm weather had boosted visitor numbers at its theme parks since the summer. Trading at its Legoland parks also continued to benefit from publicity generated by the LEGO Movie earlier in the year, the world's second biggest operators of visitor attractions after Walt Disney said on Tuesday. Chief Executive Nick Varney said the group had seen good trading across its business, reflecting favorable weather in the period, and this year's exceptional performance in its Legoland Parks. The company said it expected to deliver full-year earnings between 407 million and 411 million pounds ($640-646 million), beating average analysts expectations which stand at 404 million pounds, according to Thomson Reuters data. (Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Neil Maidment)