Vail Resorts stock hits five-year high

AVON - Buoyed by record profits in the second quarter, Vail Resorts' stock Friday surged to the highest price in five years - $25.35 before an indecisive market pulled it back to $25.26 at market close.

That's almost double the $13.73 the stock was trading at earlier in the year. Trading volume was 300,000 shares - twice the average volume.

In its second quarter report issued last week, the company reported earning $32.2 million, or 89 cents per share, between Nov. 1 and Jan. 30. During the second quarter last year, the company lost $6.7 million, largely because of a one-time, $36 million refinancing charge during the quarter.

Good snow earlier in the season, a weak dollar that has made vacationing in the United States a relative bargain and cost-cutting by the company are credited with the increased profit.

Just a year after the 1997 initial public offering, the company's stock soared to $32 a share. After 2001 it dipped to $11.87.



Cliff Thompson can be reached at (97) 949-0555, ext. 450, or at cthompson@vaildaily.com.