Brunni-Bahnen Makes A Profit Despite Turbulent Winter

Despite a mixed 2023/2024 winter season, Brunni-Bahnen Engelberg AG will close the year with a positive result at the end of April 2024. The successful summer business compensated for the early closure of the lifts on the Klostermatte in February 2024. The start of operations of the Brunnihütte, which has been part of the Brunni-Bahnen's catering portfolio for six months, was also successful.

The newly opened wooden ball path along the panoramic hiking trail attracted a rush of visitors in the summer of 2023. "The balls were completely sold out after just two months. Our local producer had to produce more within a week," says Managing Director Roman Barmettler happily.

The sunny weekends and the holiday season brought 145,000 first-time entries to the Brunni cable cars in the first half of the year. "That is an absolute record in the 75-year history of the Brunni cable cars," explains Roman Barmettler. The otherwise mixed September helped to support this positive result, with groups and schools enjoying the activities in the Brunni area during the week. The traffic turnover of the cable cars was TCHF 4227, almost 7.5% higher than the previous year. A magnet on the mountain is the summer toboggan run, which is a frequent travel motive for families and individual travelers from the Far East. In the last ten years, turnover has doubled.

Skiing despite little snow

At the start of the 2023/2024 winter season, the Yeti Park children's area received a new, longer conveyor belt so that skiers and sledders could enjoy a wider slope together. The start of the season at the beginning of December was promising with perfect snow conditions. But then the cold temperatures stopped. "Our employees were required to use the few nights with sub-zero temperatures to create a good base of snow. Despite tireless efforts, we had to close operations on the Klostermatte in the middle of the high season," says the managing director. This had an impact on jobs and the OX family restaurant. Sales figures are well below expectations, as the Klostermatte family paradise is a significant source of income for the Brunni cable cars. Some groups and ski schools switched to the slopes between Ristis and Schonegg. A small ray of hope was the sledge rental, which enjoyed very high demand.

With 92,199 admissions throughout the region from November to the end of March, the figure was 3.7% lower than the previous year.

Mountain gastronomy is growing

The importance of gastronomy at the Brunni cable cars has increased. Since December 2023, Christoph Braschler's gastronomy team has also been running the Brunnihütte SAC. The Brunnihütte will initially be operated on a lease basis. "Gastronomy is very important to us at Brunni. The Brunnihütte perfectly complements our gastronomy portfolio. The mountain hut has a lot of charm and feeds our guests with simple and attractively presented menus," explains the managing director. The Brunnihütte should continue to be the meeting place for locals and friends of the hut. The total turnover of all gastronomic establishments amounts to TCHF 2675. The family restaurant OX has felt the early closure of the lifts strongly. This results in the second lowest turnover in its 10-year history.

Roman Barmettler draws a mixed conclusion about the overnight accommodation on the mountain: "In principle, sales at the Berglodge and the Brunnihütte are good. However, the short-term cancellations are putting a lot of pressure on the teams in personnel planning and purchasing." In contrast, the demand for beds on sunny weekends is almost unstoppable.

Higher electricity costs burden

A total of around 237,000 guests visited Brunni and Klostermatte. This figure is 3% higher than the previous year. All three restaurants, including the transport systems, generated TCHF 7,604. EBITDA accounts for 20% of the revenue and amounts to TCHF 1,525. The slightly increased personnel costs and higher energy costs are putting pressure on the result. As in previous years, the Brunni-Bahnen wrote off around CHF 1.3 million on the systems. The profit is at the previous year's level at CHF 135,992. The self-financing rate remains stable at 69%. The Brunni-Bahnen have invested TCHF 1,050 in projects and replacement buildings.

The Board of Directors will propose to the Annual General Meeting on October 29, 2024 a tax-free repayment of the capital contribution reserves in cash in the amount of CHF 25 per share. This corresponds to a dividend of 10% of the nominal value.