Real Estate

Ski resort holding company Vail Resorts (MTN) saw earnings
fall 33% in the second quarter, as the company continued to take hits on its real estate holdings. 

Vail Resorts, which owns its namesake ski mountain along with Colorado ski areas Breckenridge and Beaver Creek, said it
earned $40.7 million, or $1.11 a share, compared with a profit of $60.5 million, or $1.65 a share, a year earlier. 

Revenue at Vail fell 23% to $300.5 million, primarily caused by a plunge in real-estate revenue. However, the results beat
the $1.13-a-share and revenue of $300 million that analysts had expected, according to data by Thomson Reuters.

Vail said its mountain segment saw a modest 1% increase in profits during the quarter to $261.0, helped by higher season
pass revenue. However, lower-than-average snowfall in Colorado caused visitations to decline 1.6% from a year ago. California
resort visits were up.

“I am pleased with how we have performed so far this season, particularly given the low early season snowfall levels at
our Colorado resorts and a still challenging economy,” said Rob Katz, CEO of Vail Resorts.

Vail’s lodging business saw profits fall to $38.7 million in the quarter on lower occupancies and average daily rates at
the company’s hotel rooms and managed condominiums. 

For the company’s real estate segment, profits plunged to $900,000 compared with $89.2 million in the previous quarter.
Vail said the plunge primarily caused by the timing of real estate closings.

Shares of Vail were up 4.6% to $39.04 on Wednesday.