Vancouver - Intrawest Corporation, a world leader in destination resorts and adventure travel, announced results for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006. For fiscal 2006, the company reported income from continuing operations of $55.3 million compared with $24.1 million in 2005. Income per share from continuing operations for the year, on a fully diluted basis, increased to $1.12 per share in 2006 from $0.50 per share in 2005. Total Company EBITDA (earnings before interest, income taxes, non-controlling interest, depreciation and amortization and any non-recurring items) increased 19 per cent to $267.5 million from $225.1 million during the same period last year.
"Our fiscal 2006 performance was highlighted by the sale of a majority of our interests in both our real estate and mountain operations at Mammoth Mountain, California, which demonstrates our proven ability to create value through acquiring and developing world-class destination resort properties," said Joe Houssian, chairman and chief executive officer. "We also made considerable progress during the year in strengthening our leadership position in the destination resort and adventure travel industries through the continued expansion of award-winning Abercrombie & Kent, as well as extending
our business reach into Europe."
Fiscal 2006 Highlights
- Total revenue of $1.61 billion.
- Resort and Travel Operations revenue increased 16% to $936.1 million from $806.6 million in 2005. The increase in revenue was led by award-winning Abercrombie & Kent which generated $294.9 million, an increase of 18 per cent over the same period last year.
- Generated presales revenue of $534 million in December 2005 - a record month for real estate launches.
- The sale of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area generated an after-tax gain of $61.3 million and Intrawest has retained a minority interest in the operations of this world-class resort.
- The sale of the majority of the company's land position at Mammoth Mountain resulted in a pre-tax profit of $56.8 million. Intrawest has retained a minority interest in the future development of the village center.
- The sale of Lot Three Ka'anapali, a 26-acre beachfront parcel in Maui, resulted in a pre-tax profit of $25.4 million.
- Strong balance sheet with year-end Net Debt to EBITDA ratio of 3.1 times, well within target leverage range.
- Expanded presence in Europe by adding three village development locations in France and one location in Switzerland.
Other Highlights
- Entered into a definitive acquisition agreement with investment funds managed by Fortress Investment Group LLC of New York for all of Intrawest's outstanding shares at a price of $35.00 per share payable in cash. A special meeting of shareholders is scheduled for Tuesday, October 17, 2006 to consider the statutory arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act. The closing is subject to the affirmative vote cast by shareholders and other regulatory closing conditions.
"We spent the latter part of fiscal 2006 conducting an intensive and thorough review of all available strategic alternatives for creating shareholder value," continued Mr. Houssian. "This broad, public process commenced in February 2006 and resulted in the definitive acquisition agreement with Fortress that we announced in August. We are confident that Intrawest and Fortress will make a formidable team as we embark on a new era of significant growth and expansion for the company. We look forward to working together to enhance the long-term value of Intrawest's irreplaceable real estate and world-class brands and to achieving our goal of becoming the trusted leader in global leisure travel."
On September 11, 2006, the Board of Directors declared a dividend of Cdn.$0.08 per common share payable on October 16, 2006 to shareholders of record on October 2, 2006.
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The sale of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area generated an after-tax gain of $61.3 million and Intrawest has retained a minority interest in the operations of this world-class resort.