Vail Resorts Profit Tops Estimate - Update

(RTTNews) - Vail Resorts Inc (MTN) Thursday reported a higher third-quarter profit, helped by double-digit revenue growth, with results topping Wall Street estimates.

The mountain resort operator also lifted its earnings outlook for 2014 and said prospects for the upcoming spring season appear bright. Vail shares were up 3.5 percent in after-hours trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

The recent quarter saw a more than 11 percent increase in skier visits, mainly on growth in Colorado, while there was a decline in Tahoe due to bad weather conditions.

Broomfield, Colorado-based Vail posted third-quarter net earnings of $117.9 million or $3.18 per share, compared with $97.6 million or $2.66 per share last year.

On average, nine analysts polled by Thomson Reuters projected earnings of $2.92 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenue for the third quarter climbed 15.6 percent to $543 million from $469 million a year ago, while analysts anticipated $522 million.

For fiscal 2014, Vail now expect net earnings in the range of $26 million to $33.5 million after the loss on extinguishment of debt. The earlier projection indicated earnings of $23 million to $36 million.

Vail Resorts stock closed Thursday at $72.11, up $0.92 or 1.29%, on a volume of 117.6k shares on the NYSE. In after hours, the stock gained $2.49 or 3.46% at $ 74.49.