Ardent has said it expects to enjoy a profitable second half to the year as visitor numbers to its troubled Dreamworld theme park finally start to pick up.

Dreamworld and the wider Australian theme park market have suffered in the wake of a fatal tragedy at the park, which claimed four lives following an accident on the Thunder River Rapids ride in October 2016.

In November, the operator said it had stemmed financial losses following the steep decline in visitor numbers and finances.Those numbers have now significantly improved, with attendance up 32.6 per cent and revenue up 55.6 per cent in the last quarter, compared to the same period a year earlier which fell immediately following the accident.

“I see a clean runway,” said Ardent’s chief executive of theme parks, Craig Davidson, speaking during an earnings call.

“We've got every piece of the park operating, and we're back to our normal scheduling of down-times, we've got some new attractions coming, and I think we're going to see the trend continue."

Ardent hopes for a boost in visitation from the upcoming Commonwealth Games, which are set to be held on the Gold Coast in April. It also has a number of new attractions set to open in 2018, including a Flying Theatre and a DreamWorks walk-through attraction, as well as the second phase completion of Corroboree – a collection of wildlife attractions with a new interactive addition looking at Indigenous culture.

Ardent recorded a net loss of AU$15.6m (US$12.2m, €9.9m, £8.8m) for the period starting 1 July and ending 26 December. The loss is a significant improvement on the same period for the previous year, which was AU$49.3m (US$38.7m, €31.4m, £27.7m). The latest results also include an impairment charge of AU$22.8m (US$17.9m, €14.5m, £12.8m) against Dreamworld.