Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN), Inc. MTN reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2020 results, wherein the top and the bottom line not only missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate but also declined on a year-over-year basis.
In the quarter under review, the company’s reported loss of $3.82 per share was wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $3.56. In the prior-year quarter, the company had reported a loss of $2.22 per share.
Quarterly revenues came in at $77.2 million missed the consensus mark of $136 million by 43%. Moreover, the top line fell 68.4% on a year-over-year basis. The downside can be attributed to dismal performance by the Mountain segment and Lodging segments.
VAIL RESORTS, INC. PRICE, CONSENSUS AND EPS SURPRISE
Vail Resorts, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Vail Resorts, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Vail Resorts, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Vail Resorts, Inc. Quote
SEGMENT RESULTS
Vail Resorts generates revenues from two segments — Resort (99.9% to net revenues in fourth-quarter fiscal 2020) and Real Estate (0.1%). Under the Resort segment, the company has Mountain and Lodging services, and other (contributing 80% to net revenues in fiscal fourth quarter) as well as Mountain and Lodging retail and dining (19.9%).
Meanwhile, Vail Resorts has two reporting segments — Mountain and Lodging.
The Mountain segment reported revenues of $48.8 million in the quarter under review, down 69% year over year due to lower visitation associated with the closure of its North American destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas because of the COVID-19 outbreak, partially offset by incremental revenues from Peak Resorts.
The segment’s EBITDA amounted to ($94.4) million, down 44.5% from ($65.3) million in the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, operating expenses at the Mountain segment totaled $143.6 million, down 35.6% year over year.
Lodging net revenues in the reported quarter were $28.4 million, down 67.2% year over year primarily due to the closure of North American lodging properties as a result of the pandemic. Under the segment, EBITDA declined 241.2% to ($8.2) million from the prior-year quarter.
Meanwhile, operating expenses at the Lodging segment contracted 54.7% year over year to $36.6 million.
OPERATING RESULTS
Vail Resorts reported EBITDA of ($103.8) million in the quarter under review compared with ($60.5) million in the prior-year quarter. The decline was primarily attributed to the closure of its destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas due the coronavirus pandemic.
Resort operating expenses totaled $180.1 million, down 40.7% year over year. Meanwhile, total segmental operating expenses contracted 40.6% year over year to $181.4 million.
BALANCE SHEET
Cash and cash equivalents as of Jul 31, 2020, totaled $391 million, up from $108.9 million in the year-ago period.
Net long-term debt amounted to $2,387.1 million at the end of the quarter, up from $1,527.7 million at the end of the prior-year quarter.
As of Aug 31, 2020, the company had total cash and revolver availability of approximately $953 million. This includes $360 million of cash in hand, $419 million of U.S. revolver availability under the Vail Holdings Credit Agreement and $174 million of revolver availability under the Whistler Credit Agreement.
Nonetheless, the company stated that it has sufficient liquidity to fund its operations for up to 2021/22 ski season, even if resort shutdowns are extended.
FISCAL 2020 HIGHLIGHTS
Fiscal 2020 diluted earnings per share came in at $2.42 compared with $7.32 reported in the prior year.
Total revenues for fiscal 2020 came in at $1,963.7 million compared with $2,271.6 million in fiscal 2019.
Total segment operating expenses for fiscal 2020 was reported at $1,466.4 million, compared with $1,571.7 million in fiscal 2019.
FISCAL 2021 GUIDANCE
Owing to the uncertainties revolving around the coronavirus pandemic, the company has refrained from providing the fiscal 2021 guidance.
ZACKS RANK & KEY PICKS
Vail Resorts currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks in the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector include Brunswick (NYSE:BC) Corporation BC, TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) Inc. TGNA and Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT), Inc. MAT. Brunswick sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while TEGNA and Mattel carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Brunswick has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 39.9%, on average.
TEGNA has a three-five-year earnings per share growth rate of 10%.
Mattel’s 2020 earnings are expected to rise 50%.
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