Interim Report - Continued Significant Interest In Mountain Holidays And A High Rate Of Investment At Skistar
SkiStar owns and operates five of the region's largest alpine ski resorts: Sälen (incl. Hammarbybacken i Stockholm), Åre and Vemdalen in Sweden and Hemsedal and Trysil in Norway. SkiStar's vision is to create memorable mountain experiences as the leading holiday operator for Scandinavia.
SkiStar's ski resorts are the perfect destination for those who are active and like to enjoy life to the fullest. Families and friends can enjoy fantastic days on the ski slopes. Many have discovered the joys of downhill skiing, but a holiday on the slopes is the perfect opportunity to exercise, to recharge your batteries and to socialise with friends and family.
- Vemdalen opened early for the season on 26 November, ahead of the rest of SkiStar’s other Swedish and Norwegian mountain destinations that were all open with good conditions for alpine skiing on 8 December.
- At the AGM in Sälen on 10 December, the decision was taken to pay a dividend of SEK 3.00 per share, which is double last year’s dividend.
Comments from the CEO Stefan Sjöstrand:
"Having visited all our mountain destinations in recent weeks, I can confirm that we have terrific skiing to offer our guests. A period of cold temperatures has enabled effective production of snow which, in combination with natural snow means we will have excellent conditions for our Christmas arrivals and, above all, that we will secure a long winter season of almost 150 days of skiing for all guests.
"Prior to the season, large investments have been made in our core business. Increased snow production, new lifts, like the new express Stjärnliften in Åre, and the development of existing ski areas ensure that our guests have amazing skiing with us and a memorable mountain experience. It’s great to also have clarified the vision for our mountain resorts through to 2030.
"Revenue increased by 15 percent in the first quarter of the 2022/23 financial year, which is a sign that our year-round investment in Scandinavia is beginning to show results. Our operating profit decreased by SEK 117 million compared with the previous year.
"After a couple of years of lower investment, we have an increased need for repair and maintenance work at our destinations before the winter season starts. In addition, costs for advertising and marketing are increasing during this period as part of our strategic initiative to advance our position as the leading holiday organiser for Scandinavia. Energy costs were lower in the first quarter, which is pleasing. This shows that our work on energy consumption is having an impact, although the bulk of energy for the year is yet to be used. Making our operations more energy efficient is also an important part of our sustainability work.
"Our business model is based on a large proportion of variable costs, mainly in the form of personnel costs linked to our operations, which we can adjust to demand.
"Our retail operations continue going strong, with sales increasing during the period, both online at skistarshop.com (+55 percent) and in our physical stores (+35 percent). This resulted in an overall sales increase of 50 percent during the quarter.
"Bookings for the winter season (expressed as the number of overnight stays booked through SkiStar’s accommodation agency) are -3 percent compared with the same period in 2019/20, i.e. on par with the last comparable winter season before the pandemic. The main reason for this decline is the negative effect caused by the calendar during the Christmas and New Year weeks. Another reason is that we are seeing later order intake than in previous years, with more people booking closer to arrival, while the period after the Christmas and New Year weeks, including the winter school holidays, shows positive figures. The Norwegian market is performing well following the past more challenging pandemic years, with a number of foreign guests returning due in part to the weak Norwegian krone. This shows that the trend of holidaying in the Scandinavian mountains is still strong this winter and that many appreciate and are prioritising alpine skiing and time with family and friends, despite a challenging global situation and tougher financial circumstances for many.
"Our focus on sustainability continues. During the quarter, we placed our first order for the world’s first circular-economy electric snowmobiles, which will also be produced in Sweden. We have launched the sale of used skis through SkiStar Pre Used at skistarshop.com and will trial the sale of used ski clothing and the rental of ski clothing in Sälen this winter. As part of SkiStar’s financing, together with one of our banks, DNB, we have included a sustainability link in one of our major credit facilities. We are doing this to link clear incentives to achieving our sustainability goals, which in the long run leads to more efficient financing with an important partner.
"Our business development and digitalisation journey also continues in order to offer our guests an even better mountain experience. This winter you will be able to experience our first unmanned stores: POP by SkiStar. We have also relaunched our membership club as new SkiStar Member, which is based on rewarding an active lifestyle in line with our sustainability strategy. The membership club currently has more than 1.5 million members.
"We look forward with confidence to another great winter season at our six destinations in Sweden and Norway. I hope to see you on the slopes!"
Stefan Sjöstrand, CEO
"Prior to the season, large investments have been made in our core business. Increased snow production, new lifts, like the new express Stjärnliften in Åre, and the development of existing ski areas ensure that our guests have amazing skiing with us and a memorable mountain experience. It’s great to also have clarified the vision for our mountain resorts through to 2030.
"Revenue increased by 15 percent in the first quarter of the 2022/23 financial year, which is a sign that our year-round investment in Scandinavia is beginning to show results. Our operating profit decreased by SEK 117 million compared with the previous year.
"After a couple of years of lower investment, we have an increased need for repair and maintenance work at our destinations before the winter season starts. In addition, costs for advertising and marketing are increasing during this period as part of our strategic initiative to advance our position as the leading holiday organiser for Scandinavia. Energy costs were lower in the first quarter, which is pleasing. This shows that our work on energy consumption is having an impact, although the bulk of energy for the year is yet to be used. Making our operations more energy efficient is also an important part of our sustainability work.
"Our business model is based on a large proportion of variable costs, mainly in the form of personnel costs linked to our operations, which we can adjust to demand.
"Our retail operations continue going strong, with sales increasing during the period, both online at skistarshop.com (+55 percent) and in our physical stores (+35 percent). This resulted in an overall sales increase of 50 percent during the quarter.
"Bookings for the winter season (expressed as the number of overnight stays booked through SkiStar’s accommodation agency) are -3 percent compared with the same period in 2019/20, i.e. on par with the last comparable winter season before the pandemic. The main reason for this decline is the negative effect caused by the calendar during the Christmas and New Year weeks. Another reason is that we are seeing later order intake than in previous years, with more people booking closer to arrival, while the period after the Christmas and New Year weeks, including the winter school holidays, shows positive figures. The Norwegian market is performing well following the past more challenging pandemic years, with a number of foreign guests returning due in part to the weak Norwegian krone. This shows that the trend of holidaying in the Scandinavian mountains is still strong this winter and that many appreciate and are prioritising alpine skiing and time with family and friends, despite a challenging global situation and tougher financial circumstances for many.
"Our focus on sustainability continues. During the quarter, we placed our first order for the world’s first circular-economy electric snowmobiles, which will also be produced in Sweden. We have launched the sale of used skis through SkiStar Pre Used at skistarshop.com and will trial the sale of used ski clothing and the rental of ski clothing in Sälen this winter. As part of SkiStar’s financing, together with one of our banks, DNB, we have included a sustainability link in one of our major credit facilities. We are doing this to link clear incentives to achieving our sustainability goals, which in the long run leads to more efficient financing with an important partner.
"Our business development and digitalisation journey also continues in order to offer our guests an even better mountain experience. This winter you will be able to experience our first unmanned stores: POP by SkiStar. We have also relaunched our membership club as new SkiStar Member, which is based on rewarding an active lifestyle in line with our sustainability strategy. The membership club currently has more than 1.5 million members.
"We look forward with confidence to another great winter season at our six destinations in Sweden and Norway. I hope to see you on the slopes!"
Stefan Sjöstrand, CEO
