Holiday Cheer at Vail (MTN)

Rochdale Securities has maintained the Buy rating on Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) ahead of the earnings call scheduled for December 8th, 2009.

Early snowfall allowed several resorts to open early, but it has been scarce since. The cold weather has allowed snow-making to compensate for snowfall, but a couple of snowstorms could make things rosier for resorts. Figures indicate that attractive packages have increased YoY bookings by 25% in October, and 8% in November. In addition, Vail has sweetened the deal by offering a price protect option for vacationers who would otherwise wait till the last moment to make bookings. Prices have risen in the last week mainly due to early season deals expiring on December 1st.

Skier visits are set to increase by 2%. Industry-wide trends, ski equipment sales and booking trends at other resorts suggest that the ski industry is relatively recession resistant. Vail expects FY2010 overall EBITDA to range from $353-$379 million.