Vail Resorts Posts Banner Second Quarter Results

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12 March 2015

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SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., March 12, 2015—Vail Resorts (VR) reported net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 (ended Jan. 31, 2015) nearly doubled, to $115.8 million from $59.3 million. Total revenue increased to $530.2 million, up 17.1 percent compared to the same period in the prior year. Notably, the results this year include Park City, which was not part of the VR portfolio a year ago.

“We benefited from strong pass sales, increased ancillary yields across our resorts, and good conditions at our Colorado resorts,” said Rob Katz, chief executive officer.

Mountain revenue increased 18.2 percent compared to the prior year to $239.3 million for the three months, up 22.5 percent, driven largely by a 23.9 percent increase in non-season's pass revenue, as well as incremental revenue of $11.8 million from the addition of Park City. Across its resorts, VR saw 15.9 percent growth in visitation and 5.7 percent rise in effective ticket price. VR had commensurate growth in ancillary revenues: 22.1 percent in ski school and 18.5 percent in F&B.

Lodging revenue rose 6.3 percent and revenue per available room increased 15.7 percent, both numbers boosted by results at VR's Colorado resorts.

VR's overall growth was tempered by what Katz called “challenging conditions in Tahoe with near record-low snowfall that impacted visitation.”

“The results highlight the success of our efforts to grow destination visitation and season pass sales, our ability to capture premium pricing and ancillary spending through consistent reinvestment in our resorts, and the opportunities we create through strategic acquisitions," Katz concluded.

VR's cash flow was so strong that it “allowed us to pay down the full $182.5 million of borrowings … used to finance the Park City acquisition in September 2014," Katz said.

This summer VR expects to spend approximately $50 million to connect the Park City and Canyons resorts, another $60 million to $65 million in maintenance spending and a few major projects, such as upgrading Vail Mountain's Avanti Chair to a six-pack; adding snowmaking on Peak 6 at Breckenridge; and investing in technology and marketing systems to drive increased yields and data capture across its resorts in ski school and rental ancillary services.

VR will also spend approximately $10 million in 2015 for Epic Discovery summer activities on Vail Mountain, including a mountain coaster, canopy tours and summer tubing. VR will also invest in kids' activities at Breckenridge and in planning for the next phase of summer construction in 2016 at Vail, Breckenridge, and Heavenly.

"Our 2015 capital plan reflects our goal to target high return investments that support a premium experience for our guests while generating significant cash flow,” Katz said.