Vail Resorts delivers a mixed bag in Q3, stock buoyed by earnings beat

Travel and leisure company Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN) reported third-quarter revenues that grew 13.7% to $957.9 million, narrowly missing the market projection of $958.75 million. Earnings for the quarter grew to $7.12 per share, from $6.17 per share a year ago. The Q2 earnings were stronger than the analysts’ expectation of $7.06 per share.

Vail shares jumped over 6% following the earnings announcement. MTN shares have declined 16.6% in the trailing 52 weeks, though it has pared some of the losses this year. For the year-to-date period, the stock is up 2%.

The company narrowed its full-year 2019 earnings outlook to $277-297 million, from the earlier guidance of $268-$300 million. Resort-reported EBITDA guidance was slightly raised to $702-712 million, from the prior guidance of $690-710 million, to take into account the recent acquisitions.

Earlier this quarter, Vail announced the closure of its acquisition of the ski field leases and related infrastructure at Falls Creek Alpine Resort and Hotham Alpine Resort in Victoria, Australia, for approximately $127 million.  

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For fiscal 2019, Falls Creek and Hotham resorts are expected to contribute approximately $2 million of Resort Reported EBITDA.

In Q3, total lift revenue increased 16.4%, driven by a 14.3% growth in skier visitation primarily from Triple Peaks and Stevens Pass. Total effective ticket price increased 1.8% in the third quarter compared to the prior year, primarily due to price increases in both lift ticket and season pass products.  

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