B.C.’s cooler than average spring could not have come at a better time for Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc. (TSX:WB), which announced May 12 that its profits dipped 42% in the first quarter ending March 31.
The ski resort earned $38.9 million 2011’s first quarter, down from $67.4 million a year earlier.
More skier visits and higher ticket prices helped revenue rise 36% to $113 million in the quarter. The company blamed higher operating costs – primarily for labour and benefits – as the cause for the profit drop.
Meteorologists say that Metro Vancouver temperatures in April and early May were down between one and two degrees compared with annual averages.
The result is that the snowpack on local mountains is much greater than normal.
Whistler Blackcomb president and COO Dave Brownlie told Business in Vancouver that Blackcomb’s snowpack is 322 centimetres.
Brownlie said Whistler Mountain closed April 25 but that he has extended Blackcomb Mountain’s season until May 30. Last year, that mountain closed May 24.
“We could keep the mountain open in June, but there’s not enough demand, ultimately,” Brownlie said. “People get going in the summer.
We’ve been having a good spring. Today there was fresh snow and the blue sky came out and it was a good day.”
The company is opening a mountain bike park on May 20 and will reopen the Peak 2 Peak Gondola for sightseeing May 28.
“There won’t be much hiking unless you have snowshoes,” Brownlie said.
Glen Korstrom
Twitter: @glenkorstrom