Compagnie Des Alpes: 1st Half 2017/2018 Sustained Activity Across The Group

Compagnie Des Alpes' ski Area sales for the first six months of FY 2017/2018 came to €372.1 M, an increase of +2.8% versus the same period one year earlier (adjusted). 

After the 1st quarter, for which analysis was made more difficult by the fact that the end of year school holiday period fell partly in the 2nd quarter, sales for the 2nd quarter were up by +4.7% compared with the same period one year earlier (adjusted). Lift ticket sales, strictly speaking, rose over the first half of the year by 2.9%, driven by an increase in revenue per skier day of 1.4% and by a 1.5% in the number of skier days.  

This season was characterized by high snowfall in the mountains which, at the national level, generated a distribution in activity between the different mountainous areas that favored ski resorts located at the average altitude level. In addition, often extreme weather conditions during January (wind, cold and precipitation) disrupted the operation of some of the Group’s ski resorts. Nonetheless, the resilience of the Compagnie des Alpes business model, as well as the observed dynamic of its ski resorts during the end of year school holiday and winter break period, led to an increase in sales that is in line with Group expectations for the first six months as a whole. 

Leisure Destinations: 1st half sales up significantly for the 5th year in a row (on a comparable scope basis) 

Leisure destination sales were sustained over the course of the 1st half of 2017/2018, increasing by +7.7% on a comparable scope basis to reach €93.8 M.  

This growth was driven by the 6.0% increase in spend per visitor (SPV). This increase illustrates actions taken by the Group to improve its "in park" offering and is a good indicator of the level of customer satisfaction. Over the same period, attendance continued to grow (+1.7%), as did hotel sales, enough to have a visible impact, thanks in particular to the 50 additional rooms made available and new seminar capacity at the Hôtel des 3 Hiboux at Parc Astérix. 

After a dynamic first quarter boosted by a very good Halloween season for all sites, the second quarter (which represents a quarter of sales for the first six months) was strong enough for the facilities that remained open to more than offset the impact of the closure for renovation of Aqualibi during the 2nd quarter in Belgium. Sales were also given a boost by this year’s early Easter weekend, which fell this year between March and April. 

Holding and Supports: impact of the integration of Travelfactory 

Holding and Supports now include the consulting business of CDA Management and CDA Beijing, the online distribution business, and CDA’s legacy real estate agencies (in particular Alpes Ski Résa), previously consolidated under the BU Ski Areas, as well as those of Travelfactory since January 1, 2018. 

In the first half of the 2017/2018 financial year, sales came to €25.3 million, compared with €8.9 million, on an actual scope basis, for the same period last year, which did not include Travelfactory. For Travelfactory, whose sales are concentrated over the winter period, the 2nd quarter represents a large portion of annual revenue. 

The consulting business, which includes CDA Management and the subsidiary in China CDA Beijing, continues to develop well, mainly thanks to service agreements with the Jardin d'Acclimatation (project management assistance and management consulting), which is scheduled to reopen on June 1, 2018. 

Grévin Prague and Grévin Seoul: facility sale or closure 

As explained when the annual financial statements were released, the Group has decided to discontinue business at the two sites, in Seoul and in Prague, and therefore to recognize them as discontinued operations in the income statement. Since then, the Grévin Museum in Seoul has been sold to the Group’s minority partner, on February 1, 2018, while the Grévin Museum in Prague closed on March 5, 2018.

These decisions will result in an about €6M improvement on the Group’s net attributable income as of this financial year compared to last year. 

Business trends for the rest of the financial year 

The following outlook for 2017/2018 is given barring the occurrence of major unforeseen events. 

• Ski Areas The 3rd quarter, which last year accounted for nearly 12% of annual sales, is showing a slowdown in business compared with the 1st half of the year just ended due to the unfavorable positioning of the school holiday and the Easter weekend, plus the transportation sector strikes in France. In light of these factors, the Group estimates that total sales growth for its BU Ski Areas will be close to 2% for financial year 2017/2018. 

The Group maintains its EBITDA margin as indicated last December in its annual results release. 

• Leisure Destinations The second half of the year accounts for nearly 75% of annual sales for the Leisure Destinations BU. The Group, with an ambitious investment program, has given itself the resources needed to welcome more customers and offer an experience designed to generate the high level of visitor satisfaction that promotes return visits. 

Accordingly, Parc Astérix is in the process of finalizing the second of a three phase hotel project with the opening of the La Cité Suspendue theme hotel, which offers a capacity of 150 rooms, doubling the current capacity. 

After the launch of the visual immersion attraction, Dans les Yeux de Thomas Pesquet, at the start of the season, Futuroscope inaugurated the Sébastien Loeb Xperience on March 24, 2018, a new 5D virtual reality attraction in which the visitor becomes the co-pilot of the famous auto racer. 

In Belgium, Walibi is also transforming itself with a new area called Exotic World that showcases Polynesia and that includes, among other features, a new family-friendly roller coaster called Tiki-Waka. The Aqualibi has been beefed up with the addition of an extension designed specifically for the youngest visitors. 

Walibi Rhône-Alpes continues its transformation this season with the overhaul of its reception area and the creation of a new area, Festival City, which includes an intense emotion attraction for families called Hurricane, two attractions for children, a store, and a new theme-based food court.