Vail Resorts Inc.’s new chief executive Rob Katz made his first public appearance Monday, revealing record second-quarter income in a conference call with analysts.
The company announced net income of $43 million for the second quarter of fiscal year 2006, which ended Jan. 31.
Its profit has risen 33.4 percent over the same period last year as revenue expanded, due in part to a 7.9 percent increase in skier visits at its five resorts.
“I’m really looking forward to taking a more active role in guiding the company’s strategic direction,” Katz told analysts.
Former CEO Adam Aron resigned in January after leading the company for almost a decade. He was replaced this month by Katz, a longtime company director and former senior partner at Apollo Management, the majority Vail Resorts shareholder until October 2004.
Several analysts who listened to the conference call said they were impressed by Katz, 39.
“He did very well,” said Will Marks of JMP Securities in San Francisco.
Marks said he didn’t expect much change in the company’s short-term strategy.
Katz “will continue to execute the same strategy that was laid out by Adam, which is a strong focus on marketing some of the best resorts in North America and positioning the company’s land holdings for real estate sales.”
In the conference call, Katz said he plans to continue bolstering the company’s real estate holdings. He also said he is considering the option of buying some of Intrawest’s assets.
“Future strategic external growth is certainly something that we’re going to be looking very carefully at,” he said.
Vail Resorts’ second- quarter growth was due in large part to a 7.9 percent increase in skier visits at its five ski areas through January, with 2.88 million skiers hitting the slopes.
Keystone saw the largest bump in skier traffic, up 13.5 percent, followed by Breckenridge, up 11.5 percent. Heavenly, on the Nevada-California border, was the only Vail Resorts ski area to post a decrease, down 8.1 percent, due in part to lower snowfall levels.
Revenue grew by $23.4 million, or 8.8 percent, to $288 million, with a 15 percent growth in mountain revenue and 23.3 percent boost in real estate revenue helping to counteract a 24.7 percent decline in lodging revenue.
The company also announced plans to invest up to $80 million in resort improvements through the end of 2006.
Vail Resorts’ stock closed at $37.29, up $2.01, or 5.6 percent.
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-820-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
