Bad weather tamped down visits in early ski season, Vail says

BROOMFIELD — Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) said poor snowfall at some of its top destinations is dragging down key metrics halfway through the skiing season.

In an interim ski season report, the Broomfield-based ski resort company said overall skier visits fell 7.8 percent in the current 2019-2020 season compared to the number of skiers in the same time period in the 2018-2019 season. Dining revenue at the company’s resorts fell 3.6 percent this season compared to the same period last year, while rental and retail sales at its pro shops fell by 1.8 percent.

Total lift ticket revenue inched up by 0.4 percent from last season, while ski lesson sales increased by 2 percent compared to the same point last year.

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In a statement, CEO Rob Katz said the drop in some metrics was driven by underwhelming snow measures at the Whistler Blackcomb resort in Canada and Stevens Pass in Washington state.

“Season to date snowfall at Whistler Blackcomb was 60 percent below the 30-year average through Dec. 31, 2019, representing the lowest snowfall recorded in over 30 years for the period,” he said.

Vail did not comment about sales in its five Colorado locations.

The company said it still expects to reach its previous guidance of between $778 million and $818 million in pre-tax earnings for fiscal year 2020, mostly due to strong sales of its Epic Pass.

Vail stock prices swung between losses and gains of 4 percent from its starting price Friday before tapering off to stand at $248.75 per share as of noon Mountain Time, a decrease of 0.27 percent.