Vail Resorts Inc. said retail and rental revenues increased 21.8% to $74.3 million in the fiscal second quarter ended Jan. 31, compared to $61.0 million in comp period in the prior year as season pass holders took advantage of early snow to ski and spend more at its more than 150 specialty shops in the Western U.S.
Overall Mountain segment revenue jumped 22.0% to $318.3 million for the fiscal second quarter, compared to $261.0 million in the prior-year period. Net revenue excluding the acquisition of Northstar-at-Tahoe increased 10.4%. Mountain segment EBITDA was up 18.7% to $127.2 million in fiscal Q2, compared to $107.2 million in the year-ago quarter.
The latest quarter included $4.5 million of incremental revenue from the acquisition of Northstar-at-Tahoe in the current fiscal year. Excluding Northstar-at-Tahoe, retail/rental increased 14.4%, driven primarily by retail sales which were up 19.3% for the period.
The growth reflected a 21.0% increase in sales at the company’s stores along Colorado’s Front Range as well as at its Any Mountain stores in the San Francisco bay area, which benefited from an epic early snow in Lake Tahoe. Stores operating at the company’s mountain resorts also rose due primarily higher skier visitation.
The company said its retail cost of sales increased 15.4%, excluding Northstar-at-Tahoe, mostly due to an increase in sales volume partially offset by improved gross margins.
The company said growth in spending outpaced growth in visitation to the company’s six mountain resorts for the season-to-date period ended March 6.
While skier visits were up 4.4%, revenue rose 10.4% at Vail Resorts’ ski schools, 8.7% at its dining establishments and 10.8% at its retail/rental operations.
“We are continuing to see a strong rebound in guest spending,” said Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz. He said sustaining the growth will become more difficult in the current quarter, however, as Easter falls much later in April than last year, which could cut into business from Latin America and Mexico.
Some of the company’s resorts also benefited from an unusually long winter last year.
Total Vail Resorts, Inc. net revenue increased 29.2% to $388.1 million for the three months ended Jan. 31, compared to $300.5 million in the prior-year period. Net income attributable to Vail Resorts, Inc. was $54.6 million, or $1.48 per diluted share, in fiscal Q2, compared to $40.7 million, or $1.11 per diluted share, in the comp quarter in the prior year.
Season-to-date total pro forma lift ticket revenue at the company's six mountain resort properties, adjusted as if Northstar-at-Tahoe (acquired in October 2010) was owned in both periods and including an allocated portion of season pass revenue for each applicable period, was up approximately 7.5% through March 6, 2011. Reported lift ticket revenues for the fiscal second quarter were up 19.8% to $155.2 million.
Season-to-date total pro forma skier visits for Vail Resorts’ six mountain resort properties were up approximately 4.4% through March 6. Reported skier visits for the fiscal second quarter were up 8.7% to 3.0 million.
Effective ticket prices were down 1.8% to $45.71 per lift ticket sold in the fiscal second quarter.
