Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN) today reported certain ski season metrics for the comparative periods from the beginning of the ski season through April 10, 2016, and for the prior year period through April 12, 2015. The reported ski season metrics are for the Company’s U.S. mountain resorts, excluding results from Perisher and the urban ski areas of Afton Alps, Mt. Brighton and Wilmot Mountain. The data mentioned in this release is interim period data and is subject to fiscal quarter end review and adjustments.
Season-to-date total lift ticket revenue at the Company’s U.S. mountain resorts, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue for each applicable period, was up 19.3% compared to the prior year season-to-date period.
Season-to-date ancillary spending increased compared to the prior year, with dining revenue up 16.0% and ski school revenue up 10.1% at the Company’s U.S. mountain resorts. Additionally, retail/rental revenue for U.S. resort store locations was up 11.5% compared to the prior year season-to-date period.
Season-to-date total skier visits for the Company’s U.S. mountain resorts were up 13.4% compared to the prior year season-to-date period.
Commenting on the ski season metrics, Rob Katz, Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are very pleased with our results as the 2015/2016 ski season comes to its conclusion. Our momentum throughout the year continued across each of our Western geographies with strong visitation from destination and local guests throughout the spring. The season’s results highlight the experience we provide guests at each of our resorts due to the engagement of our employees and the investments we have made at each of the mountains and the success of our more sophisticated marketing efforts to drive season pass sales and overall destination visitation.”
Regarding the outlook for fiscal 2016, Katz said, “The results from March 7, 2016 through April 10, 2016 were stronger than we expected driven in large part by favorability in the post-Easter time period with excellent conditions and robust spending across our resorts. As a result, we expect that our fiscal 2016 Resort Reported EBITDA will finish the year at or above the high end of our guidance range issued on March 10, 2016.”
Discussing spring season pass sales results, Katz continued, “Our attention is already turning to the 2016/2017 season with spring season pass sales underway. The breadth of our season pass collection, led by the Epic Pass and Epic Local Pass, remains the most compelling value for skiers and riders in the United States and from around the world. To date, we have seen very strong overall results with significant continued growth on top of the record results we saw last spring and good momentum across all of our critical geographies.”
About Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN)
Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading global mountain resort operator. The Company’s subsidiaries operate nine world-class mountain resorts and three urban ski areas, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado; Park City in Utah; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada; Perisher in Australia; Afton Alps in Minnesota, Mt.Brighton in Michigan and Wilmot Mountain in Wisconsin. The Company owns and/or manages a collection of casually elegant hotels under the RockResorts brand, as well as the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning and development subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company website is www.vailresorts.com and consumer website is www.snow.com.
