Vail Resorts, Inc. posted another record performance for the fiscal year ended July 31, with $838.9 million in net revenue, up 3.6 percent over the previous year, due in part to strong skier visits last winter.
For the year, Vail Resorts’ mountain revenue grew to $620.4 million, up 14.7 percent. Net income nearly doubled to $45.8 million, or $1.19 per share, from $23.1 million, or 64 cents a share, a year ago.
Skier visits at Vail Resorts’ five mountains – Vail, Keystone, Beaver Creek and Breckenridge in Colorado and Heavenly in California – were up a combined 5.9 percent last winter, with 6.3 million people hitting the slopes. Revenue from lift ticket sales grew 12.7 percent, to $263 million.
“I am extremely pleased to report that Vail Resorts has completed another record year,” said Chief Executive Officer Rob Katz in a conference call this morning with analysts. “This kind of sustained performance is truly the realization of the many improvements we have made to our mountains and our emphasis on world-class service levels.”
Vail Resorts’ stock was up 47 cents to $40.20 in late morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
For the upcoming ski season, Vail Resorts said season pass sales are up 22 percent in terms of units and 35 percent in sales dollars over the same time period last year.
The company did not announce how much a single-day lift ticket would cost this winter. Last season, a full-priced adult lift ticket was $81 at Vail and Beaver Creek.
Vail Resorts, which moved its headquarters from Avon down to Broomfield this summer, also said that bookings through its central reservations systems are up 24 percent in room nights and 32 percent in sales dollars for the upcoming season versus the same point last year.
For fiscal 2006, Vail Resorts lodging revenue dropped by 20.6 percent, to $155.8 million, due in part to the sale of three hotel properties over the past two years. The company owns RockResorts, a luxury hotel chain.
On the real estate front, Vail Resorts said it has taken 10 contracts on its 13 Lodge Chalets at Vail, at an average price of nearly $2,400 per square foot. The company also plans to launch its Peaks of Breckenridge development this winter, two new base villages at Peak 7 and 8, along with a new gondola that connects the mountain to the town.
Looking ahead, Vail Resorts said it expects 2007 net income to range between $48 million and $57 million.
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-954-1592 or at jdunn@denverpost.com.
