The shares of Whistler Blackcomb owner Vail Resorts Inc. fell about 13 per cent mid-morning Vancouver time after the company trimmed its full-year earnings guidance and discussed a weak December for guest visits, largely because of Whistler Blackcomb.
“Results over the holidays were in line with our expectations across our resorts except at Whistler Blackcomb and our Tahoe resorts which had results below our expectations primarily driven by increased weather variability at those resorts over the holidays and lower than expected destination and international visitation,” said CEO Rob Katz in a Jan. 11 corporate filing.
Katz said that “despite good conditions our destination guest visitation was much lower than anticipated in the pre-holiday period, particularly Dec. 1 through Dec. 21.”
As a result of enduring that much lower traffic, Katz said that he expected the company’s EBITDA to be “slightly below the low end” of its earlier guidance of US$718 million to US$750 million.
Things last year were going well for the Colorado-based ski-resort operator, largely because of Whistler Blackcomb.
Business in Vancouver reported last summer that it was Whistler Blackcomb’s record number of visitors during the 2018 winter, and the destination’s status as the most-visited ski resort in North America, that helped owner Vail Resorts Inc. notch a stellar end to last ski season.
Vail Resorts' most recent earnings report, in December, was disappointing for the company, with Vail notching a bigger than expected loss and slower than expected revenue gains from season pass sales.
Vail is expected to report its next full quarterly earnings report in March.
– Glen Korstrom, Business in Vancouver
