The parent company of the Kings Island amusement park in Warren County will suspend cash distributions to stakeholders next year as the company continues to weather downturns in sales and profits, executives said Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Sandusky-based Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. said fewer people have visited its parks this year and those who did visit spent less money.

Dick Kinzel, chairman, president and chief executive of the publicly traded partnership, said a steep decline in group sales fueled by spending cuts by businesses, schools and other organizations caused the sales decline. Bad weather in several of the regions where Cedar Fair has theme parks also hurt sales, Kinzel said.

For the quarter ended Sept. 27, the company reported profits fell to $107.6 million, or $1.92 per diluted limited partner unit, compared with net income of $91.5 million, or $1.65 per diluted limited partner unit a year ago. Revenue for the most recent quarter fell 4 percent to $519.9 million, compared with $540.3 million a year ago, the company said.

For the first three quarters, the net profits was $61.7 million, or $1.10 per diluted limited partner unit, compared with a net profit of $62.5 million, or $1.12 per limited partner unit, the company said. Revenue was $810.5 million, versus revenue of $877 million during the year-ago period.

October, with the launch of Halloween events, brought little relief. Revenue for the month fell 11 percent, the company also reported a drop of 255,000 visitors and decreases in money spent at its hotels and other facilities located outside its parks, executives said. Kinzel said unseasonably cool temperatures and heavy rain dampened the impact of the parks’ otherwise popular Halloween events.

Kinzel said they will suspend cash payments to stakeholders in the partnership and instead will channel the money into paying down debt. This year, however, the company still plans to pay a third-quarter distribution of 25 cents to stakeholders.

Others in the amusement park industry also have seen revenue shrink. On Monday, Nov. 2, New York-based Six Flags Inc. said revenue contracted in the third quarter and during the first nine months of 2009, in part because group ticket sales slipped as a result of the economy, for example.

Cedar Fair, which bought Kings Island in 2006, owns and operates 11 amusement parks — including Kings Island and Cedar Point in Ohio — six outdoor water parks, one indoor water park and five hotels.