Vail Resorts Inc. delivered record revenue and EBITDA, had a solid recovery in skier visits and achieved robust increases in spending per guest in the third quarter ended April 30 compared with a year earlier.



Revenues from the companys retail/rental operations, which include more than 180 specialty shops run by Specialty Sports Ventures, increased 10.3 percent to $66.3 million for the quarter compared with the third quarter of fiscal 2012. For the nine months ended April 30, retail/rental revenues were $176.8 million, up 9 percent.

 

Skier visits at our Colorado resorts for the quarter were up 11.8 percent over the prior year, offset somewhat by a decline of 0.4 percent in skier visits in Tahoe (excluding Kirkwood), where unusually warm and dry temperatures this spring negatively impacted results, explained CEO Robert Katz. For the quarter, excluding the acquisitions, lift revenue excluding season pass revenue was up 13.4 percent compared with the same period in the prior year and we saw continued growth in ancillary revenue, driven by increased guest spend, with dining revenue up 13.9 percent, ski school revenue up 11.8 percent, and retail/rental revenue up 7.4 percent. Retail/rental results were modestly tempered by results in our city store locations.”

 

Other highlights from Vail Resorts Mountain segment, which includes revenues from lift ticket sales, restaurants and rental and retail shops, but exclude revenues from loding and real estate development, included:

 


  • Lift revenue excluding acquisitions and excluding season pass holders, increased $16.4 million, or 13.4 percent, for the three months ended April 30, 2013 as compared to the same period in the prior year.
  • Effective ticket price excluding season pass holders, and excluding the acquisitions, increased $4.51, or 5.9 percent for the quarter as compared to the same period in the prior year.
  • Mountain Reported EBITDA increased $23.6 million, or 13.8 percent to $194.3 million for the quarter compared to the same period in the prior year. Excluding transaction fees related to the companys recently announced long-term lease to operate Canyons Resort in Park City, UT, Mountain Reported EBITDA increased 15.4 percent to $197.0 million for the quarter. Mountain Reported EBITDA includes $2.1 million and $1.6 million of stock-based compensation expense for the three months ended April 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Season pass sales


Vail Resorts spring season pass sales through May 28, 2013 for the upcoming 2013/2014 ski season, increased approximately 18 percent in units and approximately 24 percent in sales dollars, as compared to the prior year period through May 29, 2012.

 


These very strong results, over record sales last spring, are due to more intensive efforts to move fall purchasers to the spring, increasing our overall renewal rate and the introduction of new products and access to new resorts, said Katz. We also saw very strong growth from the Minneapolis and Detroit metro areas, which surround our recently acquired Afton Alps and Mt. Brighton resorts, with pass sales in those markets representing a significant portion of this spring’s pass sales outside of Colorado and Tahoe.”

 

Katz continued, “Our efforts to drive spring pass sales over the years have dramatically changed the nature of how and when our guests purchase their passes for skiing and riding. The 138,000 passes we sold this spring is more than double the number of passes we sold in the spring of 2008. As always, it is important to note that we do not believe that the growth rates from this spring will be maintained through the fall, as our spring growth includes pass holders who purchased last fall. However, we believe the earlier we can move our guest’s purchase decision in the year, the more opportunity it provides us for more stable and consistent growth. It is also important to remember that nearly all of the 2013 spring pass sales will be recorded as revenue in fiscal 2014, over the course of the 2013/2014 ski season.”

 

Katz added, “Our strong results from this spring do not include the impact we may see from recently adding Canyons Resort in Park City, UT to our pass products. The addition of Canyons to the Epic Pass comes on top of dramatically improving the benefits of the Epic Pass this year by adding full season access to Eldora Mountain Resort in Colorado, five days at five resorts in the Arlberg region in Austria, including St. Anton, Lech and Zurs, and expanding access to Verbier in Switzerland from three to five days. We are pleased we will enter our fall pass selling season with strong momentum.”

 















































































































































































































































































































































































Vail Resorts, Inc.


Mountain Segment Operating Results


(In thousands)


(Unaudited)










Three Months Ended


April 30,

Percentage


Increase

Nine Months Ended


April 30,

Percentage


Increase

2013

2012

(Decrease)

2013

2012

(Decrease)


Net Mountain revenue:












Lift tickets

$

215,163


$

188,712


14.0

%

$

390,820


$

342,411


14.1

%


Ski school

53,531


47,040


13.8

%

95,254


84,292


13.0

%


Dining

37,876


31,388


20.7

%

74,075


61,757


19.9

%


Retail/rental

66,329


60,144


10.3

%

176,802


160,958


9.8

%


Other

29,118


27,302


6.7

%

78,719


70,776


11.2

%


Total Mountain net revenue

$

402,017


$

354,586


13.4

%

$

815,670


$

720,194


13.3

%


Mountain operating expense:












Labor and labor-related benefits

$

83,372


$

73,946


12.7

%

$

201,350


$

176,775


13.9

%


Retail cost of sales

23,795


22,633


5.1

%

75,230


67,590


11.3

%


Resort related fees

22,445


20,827


7.8

%

40,830


38,648


5.6

%


General and administrative

31,581


27,992


12.8

%

93,698


85,397


9.7

%


Other

46,760


38,813


20.5

%

125,390


109,846


14.2

%


Total Mountain operating expense

$

207,953


$

184,211


12.9

%

$

536,498


$

478,256


12.2

%


Mountain equity investment income, net

266


336


(20.8)

%

799


944


(15.4)

%


Mountain Reported EBITDA

$

194,330


$

170,711


13.8

%

$

279,971


$

242,882


15