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Vail Purchases Okemo, Sunapee, Crested Butte, and Stevens Pass

slatham

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Vail reported earnings up 41% for the fiscal 3rdQ.

Of real interest, season pass sales +12% in units and +19% in sales dollars through May 29th vs. last year.

Stock surges and is up 28% YTD.

Market cap $10.9 bil.

Peak Resorts Market cap $71mm

For perspective, Vail's NET INCOME for 3rd Q was $256mm

The rich get richer......
 

sull1102

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Jesus, those numbers show just how insanely huge Vail is to someone who views Peak as a pretty large group of resorts... How was ASC forced to dump C'more and WV back in 94 and Vail is allowed to grow and grow and grow like this. I'm not saying ASC would have been better off keeping those two around, but ya never know.

One question I have now though, how much is Mount Snow worth to Peak? Because the Hermitage has $25-million in the hole and the idea seems to be that it will sell for less than that by a lot. If Snow were to go up on the market someday it must be worth almost half of Peak Resorts as a whole. That is very interesting for a company that does not have the greatest overall health although it is greatly improved from a year ago.
 

abc

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And let's not forget the substantially greater travel time that you are if you go to the Alps. In many circumstances that will eat into the time on the slopes.
The travel time is only "substantially greater" if you bought into the false promise of flying to London first.

Flights from NYC to Zurich is around 6 hrs. Flights from NYC to SLC is around 5 hrs, 6 to Reno. How substantial is that?

The beauty of transatlantic flight is one leg of it happens in the middle of the night. So the travel time is not lost. (granted, if you can't sleep on the plane, that's going to be rough)

One thing I will give you (although you said that FLYING to the Alps is cheaper) is that it is easier to get away without a car in Europe. Although you were talking about flying into Munich and Zurich. I would still want a car if I flew into one of those cities (more so for Munich). If you fly into a city such as Innsbruck and don't rent a car, the airfares go up so there is no real savings.
Why would you need a car from Zurich?

It's not which city you fly into that matters. It's which resort to ski in. If you're going to the French Alps, you may want a car. But if you're going to Austria or Switzerland, you can easily get to just about every mountain/villages by train (or a postal bus straight from the train station).

The skiing in Europe is quite different from skiing in the west. Some people prefer one type over the other. But as far as cost, it could go either way.
 

sull1102

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Ragged too?

Waterville could use some capital expenditures to do the planned expansions including gondola. That could help gain back market share from Loon and Bretton Woods.

Ragged also has that third peak expansion that was cut years and ago and has gone completely silent since.
 

mbedle

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Vail reported earnings up 41% for the fiscal 3rdQ.

Of real interest, season pass sales +12% in units and +19% in sales dollars through May 29th vs. last year.

Stock surges and is up 28% YTD.

Market cap $10.9 bil.

Peak Resorts Market cap $71mm

For perspective, Vail's NET INCOME for 3rd Q was $256mm

The rich get richer......

My retirement accounts appreciate Vail's growth!!!
 

mbedle

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Jesus, those numbers show just how insanely huge Vail is to someone who views Peak as a pretty large group of resorts... How was ASC forced to dump C'more and WV back in 94 and Vail is allowed to grow and grow and grow like this. I'm not saying ASC would have been better off keeping those two around, but ya never know.

I guess because they owned 10 resorts all located in VT, NH and ME.
 

MadPadraic

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The travel time is only "substantially greater" if you bought into the false promise of flying to London first.

Flights from NYC to Zurich is around 6 hrs. Flights from NYC to SLC is around 5 hrs, 6 to Reno. How substantial is that?

The beauty of transatlantic flight is one leg of it happens in the middle of the night. So the travel time is not lost. (granted, if you can't sleep on the plane, that's going to be rough)


Why would you need a car from Zurich?

It's not which city you fly into that matters. It's which resort to ski in. If you're going to the French Alps, you may want a car. But if you're going to Austria or Switzerland, you can easily get to just about every mountain/villages by train (or a postal bus straight from the train station).

The skiing in Europe is quite different from skiing in the west. Some people prefer one type over the other. But as far as cost, it could go either way.

I love snowboarding Europe, but the travel times really aren't close at all.

First off flying to Zurich is actually 7:15 not 6 hours. Second, traveling to Europe requires dealing with customs, which can frequently run for a whole hour when returning to the USA (even with global entry). Third, international flights have earlier check-in times.

Now, if you want to go carless, the USA even has a slight advantage: shuttles from SLC or DEN are plentiful, cheap, and meet your inbound flight. Trains in Europe are more romantic and scenic, but the transfers are longer and not nearly as well timed.

Also, booking a ticket to somewhere like Steamboat or Aspen is easy: the connections are very well timed. Try doing that in Europe on a budget: you'll find yourself on a flag carrier to a major hub and then on Sleazyjet, or jet2, or whatnot for the hop.

The extra travel time is entirely worth it for a certain type of vacation, but it is definitely not the same as flying to DEN on a 6:30 am flight and being at A-Basin by lunch.
 

BenedictGomez

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I guess because they owned 10 resorts all located in VT, NH and ME.

If you're going to be in the publicly traded ski company business, geographical diversification is both wise & prudent.

It wouldn't shock me if one of Vail's next purchases is European; what does shock me is that they haven't already done so.
 

BenedictGomez

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Also, booking a ticket to somewhere like Steamboat or Aspen is easy: the connections are very well timed. Try doing that in Europe on a budget: you'll find yourself on a flag carrier to a major hub and then on Sleazyjet, or jet2, or whatnot for the hop.

Or RyanAir, where your airplane literally might not have bathrooms in order to fit 4 extra seats.

Better have a strong bladder!
 

Jully

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Well, not a valid comparison by him. Epic unlimited only occurs with a full Epic pass (otherwise blackout days appear). It's 7 on the full Ikon which should be used as the comparitor. No I don't see that increasing this year, but perhaps they will give each of the Boyne properties in the East their own days next year to address Vail's purchases.

Sent from my XT1650 using AlpineZone mobile app

The more I think about it, the more i think Boyne pushed for 5 days total, not Alterra. I bet they were worried about Ikon poaching NE pass sales. Plenty of NE passholders ski less than 15 days. Who would pay $700 for a silver NE when you can pay $600 for more resorts and just as much skiing?
 

slatham

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During the earnings call they noted that there were more opportunities for expansion in the North America, and even more internationally.

No detail on how they spend the $35mm in cap ex at the 4 new resorts.

Geographic diversification is key. They noted how Whistler and Stowe helped offset poor snow in CO/UT, though they did note a strong come back in the second half of the year in UT/CO.
 

Killingtime

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Peak Resorts Market cap $71mm

For perspective, Vail's NET INCOME for 3rd Q was $256mm

The rich get richer......


It would seem that the value of all Peak Resorts ski areas combined would be worth much more than the $71million market cap it is getting. Vail is selling at 40X earnings so the stock market is factoring in a very healthy growth rate. Peak, at $5.00 a share, seems to be struggling.
 

Smellytele

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Did Vail buy Okemo- Sunapee- Crested Butte and Stevens Pass or did they buy the rights to run them? I know Sunapee was only leased from the State of NH. What do they own? Buildings, lifts and infrastructure? If the lease was up what would become of the infrastructure?
 

mbedle

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Did Vail buy Okemo- Sunapee- Crested Butte and Stevens Pass or did they buy the rights to run them? I know Sunapee was only leased from the State of NH. What do they own? Buildings, lifts and infrastructure? If the lease was up what would become of the infrastructure?

Its a little odd, but as part of the deal, they are paying Oz Real Estate 155 million to pay of the long-term operating leases/buyback the assets (Peaks sold everything to them and did a long term lease back). After the Oz lease is paid off, at Crested Butte and Okemo, they will own everything except what land is leased from the state (Vermont Okemo) or NFS (Crested Butte). For Steven's pass, they really only purchased the right to operate the ski area on NPS land. I believe that what is installed on that land, would ultimately be owned by the Government if a lessee canceled the SUP. I am also going to say that the same thing applies to Sunepee.
 

cdskier

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Did Vail buy Okemo- Sunapee- Crested Butte and Stevens Pass or did they buy the rights to run them? I know Sunapee was only leased from the State of NH. What do they own? Buildings, lifts and infrastructure? If the lease was up what would become of the infrastructure?

"The Company will purchase Triple Peaks, LLC from the Mueller family for a purchase price of $82 million, subject to certain adjustments. At closing, Triple Peaks will pay $155 million to pay off the leases that all three resorts have with Ski Resort Holdings, LLC, an affiliate of Oz Real Estate, with funds provided by Vail Resorts...

Vail Resorts will, subject to approval, assume the state land leases for Okemo Mountain Resort and Mount Sunapee Resort and will obtain new Special Use Permits from the U.S. Forest Service for Crested Butte Mountain Resort and Stevens Pass Resort. The state land lease transfers in Vermont and New Hampshire are subject to administrative review and consent from their respective states.
"

Many ski resorts operate on leased land, so I wouldn't be too concerned about that fact.
 

Jully

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Ragged also has that third peak expansion that was cut years and ago and has gone completely silent since.

Ragged's owners are moving slowly with any and all changes for sure, but they do seem to have a clear plan, especially since the mission affordable thing started. I don't see them selling the resort just yet (if ever). Obviously for the right price they would, but Ragged isn't some incredible hidden jewel of an acquisition for Alterra or Vail.
 
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