BROOMFIELD, Colo.—Vail Resorts Inc. reported record profits for its fiscal third quarter Thursday, but the results fell short of Wall Street expectations.
CEO Rob Katz said Vail Resorts now expects net income for the full fiscal year to be at or slightly below its previous guidance of $112 million to $122 million.
The Broomfield-based company reported net income of $87.3 million, or $2.24 per share, on revenue of $423.8 million for the three months ending April 30.
That was up 11 percent from net income of $78.5 million, or $1.99 per share, on revenue of $369.5 million in the same period in 2007.
Excluding stock-based compensation expense, the company said it would have earned $2.28 per share in the latest quarter.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting earnings of $2.39 a share.
Vail Resorts has been hurt by the soft U.S. economy, which limited how many Americans traveled from across the country to the company’s five resorts. However, international guest visits were up an estimated 28 percent over the previous third quarter, Vail Resorts said.
Skier visits for the 2007-2008 season at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly were down .5 percent from the previous season after a sluggish start to the season. After Dec. 23, as the Colorado mountains were socked with snowstorms, skier visits were up 4.1 percent from last season, the company said.
For the nine months that ended April 30, Vail Resorts reported net income of $114 million, or $2.91 per share, on revenue of $881.7 million. That is up from profit of $95.7 million, or $2.44 per share, on revenue of $844 million for the nine-month period a year ago.
Vail Resorts is hoping to draw more destination skiers next season with its new Epic Season Pass, which offers unrestricted access to all five of its resorts for $579. Katz wouldn’t discuss sales figures so far.
The company said Colorado pass sales this spring for next season, excluding sales of Epic passes among new passholders, were up 2 percent in sales dollars compared with last spring.
Vail’s stock was down $1.82, or 3.7 percent, to $47.28 in midday trading Thursday.
Also Thursday, Vail Resorts announced that Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Jones has been appointed to the company’s board of directors.
———
On the Net:
