Paid attendance out of Missouri Park increased approximately 18% for the quarter. Texas Park revenues increased approximately 22% to $419,000 or approximately 22% of total revenue for the first quarter, compared to $302,000 or approximately 16% of total revenue in fiscal 2023. Paid attendance at our Texas Parks increased approximately 29% for the quarter. Turning to segment income. Segment income decreased $63,000 to $233,000 in the quarter, primarily driven by higher animal fee cost and advertising expenses, partially offset by higher animal sales. Corporate expenses were $444,000 an increase of $220,000 the increase and corporate expenses for the quarter is primarily due to the higher professional fees driven by the activist investor matter that emerged in December 2023, as well as the timing of annual director’s fees, which were not declared until the second quarter of fiscal 2023.
On the bottom-line, our net loss for the first quarter of 2024 was $369,000 or $0.0 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $152,000 or $0.0 per diluted share in the first quarter of our fiscal 2023. The increase in our seasonal quarterly loss is primarily a result of the higher operating cost in activist investor defense costs noted earlier. Our adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter 2024 is negative $58,000 compared to a positive $92,000 in the first quarter of fiscal 2023. Now turning to our balance sheet. Despite the challenges of the last 12 months, I’m pleased to report that our balance sheet remains strong. Our business continues to generate positive cash flow, enabling us to pay down debt and make appropriate investments to enhance our parks.
We ended the first quarter of fiscal 2024 with $3.6 million in cash and investments and working capital of $3.2 million. Over the past 12 months, we have lowered our debt level by approximately 12%, I’m sorry, 15% to $4 million and our debt-to-equity ratio now stands at a very respectable 0.27. Additionally, in October 2023, we entered 2 separate lines of credit totaling $800,000. This is in order to provide additional financial flexibility during our slower season. As of today’s call, we have not borrowed against either of these lines of credit. Now I’ll turn the call back to Lisa.
Lisa Brady : Thanks, Todd. In addition to our CapEx plans and core business initiatives, our management team and the Board of Directors have been focused on executing a strategic plan to update many of the functions of the company, including corporate governance. To that end, we have announced that the 1st annual shareholder meeting of my administration will take place on June 6, 2024 and will continue every year hereafter. We will also host quarterly conference calls like this one to review our financial results for the benefit of our existing shareholders and potential new investors as we continue to execute upon our strategic plan. Much has transpired in the past 13 months since I was appointed Chief Executive Officer, including a devastating tornado that significantly damaged the Georgia Park just days before the spring break period during our second quarter, which is historically the park’s largest quarter.
We quickly deployed emergency recovery efforts, and thanks to the dedication and commitment from our team, we were able to safely reopen the park in just 20 days. I’m truly grateful for our team, the entire community in Pine Mountain, and all of their outstanding efforts. Since coming on board, the team has worked diligently to build a foundation, which will support core organic growth and a platform that can be scaled in the future as we look to build upon our success with inorganic growth. I am proud of all that our team has accomplished throughout the year. And as we move into my second year as CEO, in addition to core business initiatives, we will focus on improvement of our corporate governance and communication practices. Management and the board are dedicated to maintaining an open channel of communication with shareholders and potential new investors.
A new Parks America has begun to emerge with greater efficiencies, new and improved attractions, a dedication to customer satisfaction and enhanced shareholder value, and we couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come. We will not engage in a Q&A session today. However, if you have questions, please send them to lisa@parksamerica.com or email to schedule a follow-up call. We would also like to extend the invitation to visit any of our three parks and experience your investment firsthand. Lastly, I would like to inform you that we have filed a definitive proxy statement with the SEC in connection with a special meeting of stockholders currently scheduled to be held on February 26, 2024 and intend to file a definitive proxy statement with the SEC in connection with our 2024 annual meeting of stockholders currently scheduled to be held on June 6, 2024.
The company’s directors and certain of our executive officers are or may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from our stockholders in connection with such special meeting and annual meeting. Stockholders are strongly encouraged to read the proxy statements and related materials filed with the SEC carefully and in their entirety when they become available as they will contain important information about the special meeting and annual meeting, including the identity of the participants in the solicitation and their direct or indirect interest by security holdings or otherwise. At this time, we will make no further comment on the recent purported nominations and proposals made by Focus Compounding Fund LP or any matters or discussions related thereto.
Thank you for joining us on today’s call and for your continued support. We look forward to talking with you after the conclusion of our second quarter. Have a great day.
Operator:
