Vail Resorts gave investors another sour update.
The Broomfield-based ski giant lost $90.4 million in revenues during the third quarter, which includes the key Spring Break season, compared to the same time the previous year. That’s a 7% slide, which Vail executives blamed on poor snow in the western U.S.
Vail cut its financial forecast for the year due to the poor results.
"Weather conditions remained extremely unfavorable in the third quarter, adding to what had already been one of the most challenging winters in history across the western U.S., driving continued pressure on visitation and revenue in the quarter,” Vail CEO Rob Katz said in a statement.
Resorts in the Rockies, which includes Vail’s Colorado properties, took the biggest hit to visitation, according to Katz. Vail owns Breckenridge, Keystone, Beaver Creek, Crested Butte and Vail Mountain.
Pass sales down
On top of falling short on revenue this year, next year’s season pass sales are down. Sales of Vail’s Epic Pass have declined 10 percent compared to the same time last year. Sales of the Epic Pass have been flatlining for the past couple of years, but 10 percent is the largest drop off in pass sales since Vail launched the Epic Pass in 2008.
“While we're clearly not satisfied with any decline in pass sales, the outcome is not necessarily surprising given the severity of the conditions we just experienced this past season and the massive growth we saw in past sales in the previous five years,” Katz said during a conference call for investors.
The company has taken a beating from investors in recent years as long lift lines, bad publicity and a slowdown in visitation all take a toll. The lack of snow this past winter is making a bad situation worse. Vail’s shares have lost more than 50 percent of their value in the past five years.
No-show snow
Vail isn’t the only Colorado resort operator that took a hit to its bottom line this year due to the historic lack of snow. But since it’s publicly traded on Wall Street, it’s the only operator in the state that has to share its numbers.
Overall, Colorado ski areas saw 24 percent fewer visitors this past winter from the previous year, according to trade group Colorado Ski Country USA. Visitation declined in all segments including, in-state, out-of-state and international. The average number of days open fell from a 20-year average of 144 to 129.
