Vail Resorts, Inc. reported season-to-date revenue from its retail/rental operations declined just 0.3 percent through April 22 compared to the prior year season-to-date period ended April 24, 2011. The results came despite a 12.6 percent decline in total skier visits at its mountain resorts over the period.
The company did break out retail sales for the period, but those sales rose 1.2 percent in the second quarter ended Jan. 31 as sales at recently acquired O2Gearshop.com offset a 9.5 percent decline at its more than 160 brick-and-mortar specialty stores. Those stores are located at each of its ski resorts as well as locations throughout the Colorado Front Range and at other Colorado, California and Utah ski resorts, as well as in the San Francisco Bay Area and Salt Lake City areas.
“Cumulative snowfall at our six resorts was down more than 50 percent over the prior season,” said CEO Rob Katz. “In the face of these unprecedented conditions, we were very pleased with the resiliency demonstrated in our business. Ancillary revenue per skier visit, including ski school, dining, and retail/rental, increased 13.4 percent per visit buoyed by increased yields from our luxury and international guests.”
MTN also disclosed that spring season pass sales for the 2012-13 season will exceed its prior year total spring season pass sales in both units and sales dollars, adjusted as if Kirkwood were owned in both periods. MTN acquired Kirkwood April 12.
Vail Resorts, Inc.’s subsidiaries operate the mountain resorts of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado, and Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada, and the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. In the fiscal year ended July 31, 2011, rental/retail operations generated $174.3 million.
