Written by StockNews.com

Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN) early Friday [Mar 10, 2017 | 6:53am] posted much better than expected fiscal second quarter earnings results, lifted its 2017 guidance, and boosted its dividend by 30%.

The Broomfield, CO-based ski resort operator reported Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $3.63, which was $0.26 better than the Wall Street consensus view of $3.37.

Revenues rose 21.0% from last year to $725.2 million, also easily topping analysts’ view for $708.73 million.

Stemming from its strong results, MTN updated its 2017 guidance. It now sees full-year EBITDA to be between $577 million and $597 million, while net income is expected range from $196 to $222 million, compared with a prior $139.3 million estimate.

Additionally, Vail boosted its quarterly dividend payout by a whopping 30%. The new $1.053 per share dividend will be paid April 13, 2017 with a record date of Mar 29, 2017.

The company commented via press release:

“We are very pleased with our results for the quarter. We had strong results during the holidays and the month of January despite a slower start to the season at our U.S. resorts resulting from below average early season conditions. Including results from Whistler Blackcomb in the second quarter of fiscal 2017, total lift revenue increased 24.5%, driven by a 15.7% growth in visitation and a 7.7% increase in effective ticket price (“ETP”) in the second quarter compared to the prior year. We continue to see robust destination guest spending trends which, along with the addition of Whistler Blackcomb, drove a 25.9% increase in ski school revenue and a 21.5% increase in food and beverage revenue compared to the prior year.”

Vail Resorts, Inc. shares were unchanged in premarket trading Friday. Year-to-date, MTN has gained 11.86%, versus a 5.96% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

MTN currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #3 of 18 stocks in the Travel – Hotels/Resorts category.