Vail Resorts Reports Fiscal 2023 4th Quarter and Full Year Results and Provides Fiscal 2024 Outlook.

BROOMFIELD, Colo: Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN) today reported results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended July 31, 2023 and reported results of season-to-date season pass sales. Vail Resorts also provided its outlook for the fiscal year ending July 31, 2024, provided an update on capital spending plans, declared a dividend payable in October 2023 and announced share repurchases completed during the fourth quarter.

Highlights

Net income attributable to Vail Resorts, Inc. was $268.1 million for fiscal 2023 compared to net income attributable to Vail Resorts, Inc. of $347.9 million for fiscal 2022. The decrease in net income attributable to Vail Resorts, Inc. compared to the prior year is primarily attributable to a large gain on disposal of fixed assets in fiscal 2022 and an increase in fiscal 2023 expense associated with a change in the estimated fair value of the contingent consideration liability related to our Park City resort lease.

Resort Reported EBITDA was $834.8 million for fiscal 2023, compared to $836.9 million for fiscal 2022.

Pass product sales through September 22, 2023 for the upcoming 2023/2024 North American ski season increased approximately 7% in units and approximately 11% in sales dollars as compared to the period in the prior year through September 23, 2022. Pass product sales are adjusted to eliminate the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates by applying current U.S. dollar exchange rates to both current period and prior period sales for Whistler Blackcomb.

The Company provided its outlook for fiscal 2024 and expects net income attributable to Vail Resorts, Inc. to be between $316 million and $394 million and Resort Reported EBITDA to be between $912 million and $968 million. Fiscal 2024 guidance, among other assumptions described below, assumes a continuation of the current economic environment and normal weather conditions for the 2023/2024 North American and European ski season and the 2024 Australian ski season.

The Company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $2.06 per share of Vail Resorts' common stock that will be payable on October 26, 2023 to shareholders of record as of October 10, 2023 and repurchased approximately 0.4 million shares during the quarter at an average price of $247 for a total of $100 million. For the full fiscal year, the Company repurchased approximately 2.2 million shares, or 5.4% of shares outstanding, at an average price of approximately $229 for a total of $500 million.

Commenting on the Company's fiscal 2023 results, Kirsten Lynch, Chief Executive Officer, said, "Given the significant weather-related challenges this past season, we are pleased with our overall results for the year, with strong growth in 2022/2023 North American ski season visitation and spending compared to the prior year, further supported by the stability created by our advance commitment products. The return to normal staffing levels enabled our mountain resorts to deliver a strong guest experience resulting in a significant improvement in guest satisfaction scores, which exceeded pre-COVID levels at our destination mountain resorts.

"Visitation growth was achieved through strong growth in pass sales, the addition of Andermatt-Sedrun in Switzerland, the full year impact of Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Hidden Valley Resort and Laurel Mountain Ski Area (collectively, the "Seven Springs Resorts," acquired December 31, 2021), and record visitation and resort net revenue in March and April. Ancillary businesses, including ski school, dining, and retail/rental, experienced strong growth compared to the prior period, when those businesses were impacted by capacity constraints driven by staffing, and in the case of dining, by operational restrictions associated with COVID-19. Our dining business rebounded strongly from the prior year, though underperformed expectations for the year as guest dining behavior did not fully return to pre-COVID levels following two years of significant operational restrictions associated with COVID-19. Our overall results throughout the 2022/2023 North American ski season highlight the stability of the advance commitment from season pass products in a season with challenging conditions, including travel disruptions during the peak holiday period, abnormal weather conditions which significantly reduced operating days, terrain availability, and activity offerings across our 26 Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast resorts (collectively, "Eastern" U.S. resorts), and severe weather disruptions at our Tahoe resorts. This past season, approximately 75% of skier visitation at our North American resorts, excluding complimentary visits, was from pass product holders who committed in advance of the season, which compares to approximately 72% for the 2021/2022 North American ski season."

Regarding the Company's fiscal 2023 fourth quarter results, Lynch said, "The fourth quarter declined from the prior year, primarily driven by the Company's fiscal 2023 investments in employees, as well as a below average snowfall and snowmaking temperatures that limited terrain availability during the Australian winter season. North American summer operations also underperformed expectations driven by a combination of lower demand for destination mountain travel, which we believe was primarily driven by a broader shift in summer travel behavior associated with the wider variety of vacation offerings available following various travel restrictions in the prior two years, and weather-related operational disruptions."

Operating Results

A more complete discussion of our operating results can be found within the Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations section of the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2023, which was filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The discussion of operating results below compares the results for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2023 to the fiscal year ended July 31, 2022, unless otherwise noted. The following are segment highlights:

Mountain Segment

Total lift revenue increased $110.7 million, or 8.4%, to $1,420.9 million due to increases in both pass product revenue and non-pass product revenue. Pass product revenue increased 8.5% primarily as a result of an increase...