Ski Area sales for the 3 rd quarter of FY 2017/2018 showed growth of 3.5% compared with the same period of the prior financial year, reaching €50.4M. This total includes the sale of a property in the 3rd quarter located in the Arcs ski resort, for €2.4M. If the impact of this sale were eliminated, sales would have been down slightly (-1.5%). As indicated previously, sales were penalized by the late positioning of the Easter school holiday and public transportation strikes, whereas in the 3 rd quarter of the prior FY the more favorable school holiday calendar led to sales growth in excess of 30%.
For the first 9 months of the financial year (i.e., more than 98% of the season), sales rose by 2.8% and, for ski lift ticket sales alone, the increase was +2.0%. The increase in the latter was driven by growth, for the third year in a row, in the number of visitors to the Group’s ski areas, as well as by an increase in the number of skier days (+0.7%) and in the average price per skier day (+1.3%). These performances were achieved despite weather conditions that were occasionally extreme (storms, cold temperatures, violent winds, high precipitation, rain), acting as a drag on resort operations that led to numerous days of full or partial closure of ski runs and lifts.