International Speedway's 4Q net income falls
International Speedway's 4Q net income and revenue falls; 2013 outlook below expectations
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- International Speedway reported declining net income and revenue Thursday as it spent more on broadcast fees and advertising during the final quarter of the year.
The company's outlook for the year also fell below Wall Street expectations.
Yet CEO Lesa France Kennedy said that there were "leading signs of revenue stabilization this year," and profits topped most Wall Street expectations.
The racing industry has struggled especially hard, with its core audience boring the brunt of the economic downturn and drawn out recovery.
Late last year at the company's Talladega Superspeedway, attendance for the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500, a NASCAR event, was the smallest crowd for a Sprint Cup race at the track since figures have been provided.
There were visible gaps in the crowds at NASCAR's largest and fastest track.
The Daytona Beach, Fla., company said it earned $24.7 million, or 53 cents per share, in the three months ending Nov. 30. That compares to $26.5 million, or 56 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.
Excluding carrying costs related to certain property and charges stemming from a drop in some of its assets, the company said it earned $28.3 million, or 61 cents per share, in the fourth quarter.
Analysts expected earnings of 56 cents per share, according to research firm FactSet.
Revenue fell 1.3 percent to $189.4 million in the fourth quarter from $191.9 million in the same quarter a year ago.
For the fiscal year 2013, the company expects adjusted earnings between $1.35 per share and $1.55 per share. It expects revenue between $610 million and $625 million.
That falls slightly below analysts' expectations of earnings of $1.56 per share and revenue of $628 million in 2013.
We continue to experience modest headwinds with admissions, not to the degree experienced in 2011, but enough to know we still have further inroads to make with our consumer," Kennedy said.
The company owns 13 motorsports facilitates, including the Daytona International Speedway in Florida where the DAYTONA 500 race takes place.
Shares of International Speedway Corp. fell 38 cents to $28.62.
