Peak Resorts Reports Solid Retail Sales Growth

Peak Resorts Inc. (SKIS), which owns a dozen U.S. ski resorts primarily in the Northeast and Midwest, reported retail sales increased 6.5 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter ended April 30.

The Wildwood, MO-based company reported  retail sales of $2.17 million for the period, compared with $2.04 in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2014. Retail sales reached $5.26 million for the full fiscal year, up 9.4 percent for fiscal 2014.

“In fiscal 2015, higher sales of food, beverages and retail products helped drive the growth in revenue per skier visit, which in turn helped offset the slight decline in the number of visits,” said Stephen J. Mueller, Peak Resorts' chief financial officer. “In addition, full-year revenue included slightly higher revenue from last summer at our Mount Snow, Attitash and Big Boulder resorts. The summer season of fiscal 2016 has started well, and we continue to believe this year's results will see even more benefit from the zipline completed at the Attitash resort in September 2014.”

Financial highlights

• Fiscal 2015 revenue declined 0.3 percent below the record level achieved in fiscal 2014, despite weather events that impacted two of the three major holiday periods of the 2014-2015 ski season.
• The company's fiscal 2015 net loss came in at $1.9 million, or 22 cents per share. Adjusted for a one-time pre-tax charge of $5.2 million related to debt restructuring, net income would have been $1.3 million, or 16 cents per share. 
• Reported EBITDA for fiscal 2015 was $25.4 million, level with the prior-year record despite the weather challenges.
• Resort operating expenses were down $1.3 million for the full year, reflecting cost savings from recent infrastructure upgrades, including highly efficient snowguns.
• Sales of season passes for the 2015-2016 ski season were up 8 percent in units and 11 percent in dollars over the prior year through April 30.

“Looking back at the past ski season, we are very pleased with the consistency shown by our resort portfolio,” said Timothy D. Boyd, president and CEO. “Fiscal 2015 reported EBITDA was $25.4 million, level with the prior year, although weather adversely affected us during two of the three major holiday periods of the 2014-2015 season. Our board and management view reported EBITDA as the primary measure of the success of our strategic plan, as it captures both the value of our actions to improve resort operating performance and our ability to generate strong cash flows to finance further growth.

“The healthy reported EBITDA for fiscal 2015 was driven by 1.6 million skier visits for the year, down just 1.0 percent from fiscal 2014, which was a record-breaking year, with modest growth in visits at our Northeastern resorts. The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) recently reported that the U.S. ski industry tallied an estimated 53.6 million skier and snowboarder visits over the 2014-2015 ski season, down about 5 percent from the prior year because of the weather challenges experienced in almost all geographic regions during this past winter.”

Peak Resorts currently operates 13 ski resorts primarily located in the Northeast and Midwest, 12 of which are company owned. The majority of the resorts are located within 100 miles of major metropolitan markets, including New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland and St. Louis, enabling day and overnight drive accessibility. The resorts under the company's umbrella offer a breadth of activities, services and amenities, including skiing, snowboarding, terrain parks, tubing, dining, lodging, equipment rentals and sales, ski and snowboard instruction and mountain biking and other summer activities.

“As we have stated, our fiscal 2015 results reflected important progress we have anticipated on key operating initiatives,” said Boyd. “For example, our average revenue per skier visit rose to $67.45 from $67.02 last year as our resorts were able to increase pricing by about 5 percent. Infrastructure investments made in recent years, in particular new snowmaking technology, is both improving the skiing experience and reduced our total resort operating expenses by 1.7 percent for fiscal 2015.

“Overall, we are excited to be implementing our roadmap for growth, which calls for a mix of organic growth, resort development and acquisitions. We continue to evaluate potential value-add acquisitions.”