Vail Resorts' stock slips after results, guidance hurt by decline in visits, snowfall

By Bill Peters

CEO cites 'approximately 42% lower snowfall across our western North American resorts through January'

Shares of Vail Resorts Inc. fell after hours on Monday, after the ski-resort operator cut its full-year profit outlook following a drop in skier visits and snowfall at some of its North American resorts.

The company said it now expects full-year net income of between $270 million and $325 million, compared with a prior forecast for $316 million to $394 million.

Vail Resorts shares (MTN) slid about 4% after hours.

For its fiscal second quarter, the company reported net income of $219.3 million, or $5.76 a share, compared with $208.7 million, or $5.16 per diluted share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue came in at $1.08 billion, a 2.2% drop year over year.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected Vail to earn $6.04 a share, on sales of $1.15 billion.

Total skier visits so far through the skiing season were down 9.7%, the company reported.

Chief Executive Kirsten Lynch said in a statement that she expects business conditions to improve based on booking trends for the spring-break holiday and guests' behavior historically.

"The results for the second quarter were negatively impacted by challenging conditions at all of our North American resorts, with approximately 42% lower snowfall across our western North American resorts through January compared to the same period in the prior year and limited natural snow and variable temperatures at our eastern U.S. resorts," Lynch said.

"While visitation declined, our ancillary businesses performed well, in particular our ski and ride school," she added, noting that "dining and rental businesses experienced strong growth in spending per visit compared to the prior year."

-Bill Peters

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03-11-24 2016ET

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