Ocean Park has seen revenues rise for a fourth consecutive year, up by 9 percent, with visitor numbers soaring as the preservation-focused theme park leveraged on the "Panda mania" to create green shoots of business growth.

However, a statement released by the park on Wednesday also showed that its total deficit continues to widen to HK$274.7 million, up from HK$71.6 million a year earlier, partly due to higher expenses and losses from its Water World attraction.

Total revenues rose to HK$1.28 billion for the period ending in June, with income from consumption, which includes food and beverage as well as experiential services such as closer interactions with giant panda bears, reaching HK$110 million, up 35 percent.

Revenue from commodities such as souvenirs reached HK$173 million, an increase of 20 percent.

The park recorded an operating surplus of HK$42.4 million, a return to the black from the HK$17.2 million deficit of a year earlier.

Chairman Paulo Pong said the park had "reached important breakthroughs" in operations, conservation and education, while an "unprecedented panda craze" had helped boost consumption and extra income.

"The six giant pandas from three generations living in the park have brought a leverage effect to our conservation and education efforts.

"It also enables the park to connect with a wider audience and creates unprecedented opportunities for business growth, " he said.

Noting that the park has seen the number of its giant pandas increasing rapidly over "just several months", Pong said the number of panda-themed products also soared to be over 600, tripling the previous number, while accounting for 39 percent of the park's total sales of souvenirs.

The park, he added, had also leveraged its self-developed intellectual property called "Panda Friends" by collaborating with 24 brands or companies to produce merchandise.

The six pandas, including the locally-born cubs, Jia Jia and De De, as well as their mother Ying Ying and father Le Le, along with another pair that Beijing gifted to the SAR earlier, have also given the park a higher international profile that has brought in more visitors.

In total, it has attracted 3.46 million visitors in the 2024-25 financial year, up 10 percent from 3.14 million previously.

Of these, about two thirds were locals, with their numbers rising to 2.21 million, up 9 percent.

Non-local visitors rose by 12 percent to reach 1.25 million, with those from the United States, Australia and India seeing the highest growth.

To celebrate its upcoming 50th anniversary in 2027, the park expects to further build on the momentum generated by panda fever and expand exhibition areas for the giant pandas while introducing new facilities, such as upgrades to the ones featuring sloths.

A brand new Adventure Zone is also expected to open in 2028.

Putting a dampener on things was Water World's continuing to be in the red, with the latest deficit from operations hitting HK$148.3 million, but the losses narrowed by almost 20 percent.

Ocean Park said the attraction faces challenges such a drop in patronage during the autumn and winter months, as well as competition from similar facilities in the Greater Bay Area.