BROOMFIELD, Colo. (AP) -- Ski resort operator Vail Resorts said Tuesday its fiscal first-quarter loss increased and warned it may not hit its expected earnings target this year.
The Broomfield, Colo., company posted a loss of $60.6 million, or $1.70 per share in the quarter that ended Oct. 31, compared with a loss of $55.7 million, or $1.54 per share, a year earlier.
Revenue was virtually flat at $116.4 million.
Analysts, on average, expected a loss of $1.58 per share on revenue of $116.7 million.
Vail said improvements in its mountain and lodging operations weren't enough to offset higher expenses and lower retail sales in the early part of the ski season.
Looking across the entire 2013 fiscal year, which ends in July, Vail Resorts said it's going to be more difficult to achieve its projected growth target of 27 to 32 percent growth in earnings before taxes, debt and other items, which was released in September. The company plans to reassess its outlook in mid-January.
Vail Resorts Inc. shares sank $5.04, or 9 percent, to $50.80 in morning trading. The stock has changed hands between $37.54 and $59.49 in the past 52 weeks, closing Monday up about 32 percent since the start of the year.
