Six Flags has soared since emerging from bankruptcy

— -- Q: How did Six Flags come back from its nose-dive?

A: It's the time of year again when investors start thinking about corn dogs, shave ice and roller coasters.

Unfortunately, though, investors haven't done very well until recently. The amusement park operator filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2009, not long after the shares were delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. The restructuring, approved in April 2010, essentially wiped out the value of the stock formerly known at Six Flags.

Readers of Ask Matt were warned of the company's potential troubles long before the stock was ultimately decimated.

Today's Six Flags, though, is a whole new thrill ride. With much of its heavy debt load reduced, the company is back.

Six Flags' level of long-term debt as of the end of March 2012 was $918 million, down from $2.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007, says S&P Capital IQ. Reducing that debt albatross has helped the company dramatically.

Rather than spending $204 million on interest expense as in 2007, last year, Six Flags' interest expense was $61 million in the last 12 months ended in March. And while revenue is flattish, such a big savings in interest means the company was able to post a small profit of $10.7 million in the 12 months ended in March.

The improvement has been noticed by investors. Shares of Six Flags are up 32% this year, as investors hope the company can further work off its remaining debt and perhaps find a way to boost profitability in the future.

Matt Krantz is a financial markets reporter at USA TODAY and author of Investing Online for Dummies and Fundamental Analysis for Dummies. He answers a different reader question every weekday in his Ask Matt column at money.usatoday.com. To submit a question, e-mail Matt at mkrantz@usatoday.com. Follow Matt on Twitter at: twitter.com/mattkrantz