The value of one of the country’s largest ski resorts has been cut by nearly $150 million, with its owner partly blaming a disappointing snow season. Hotel and entertainment group EVT disclosed in its annual results this week that the independent valuation of Thredbo Alpine Resort, in the New South Wales Snowy Mountains, had fallen from $292 million to $143 million, a drop of more than 50 percent.
The report attributed the decline to recent trading during an unseasonably warm start to winter, as well as the capital investment required for new chairlifts and snowmaking infrastructure. The write-down came despite resort revenue rising 10 percent on the back of a solid previous season, with $50 million earned from lift tickets alone. The company also revealed plans to divest around $800 million of non-core properties to fund future growth in hotels, with its chief executive telling investors that everything was genuinely on the table.
In the results, Thredbo was described as structurally exposed to a warming climate because its business model depends on natural snow cover, with the report noting that further investment in snowmaking and a push into summer tourism would be needed to adapt. The write-down landed in the middle of a challenging winter across the alpine region, with smaller resorts closing early and artificial snow keeping larger ones open.
A Monash University climate scientist said the season was nearing its end just when it would normally be peaking, remarking that he had struck more rocks while skiing this year than in his entire career. He linked the conditions to warmer, drier trends in the country’s south-east combined with an El Nino year, which had seen rain fall in place of snow. Earlier research had already found the length of the ski season had contracted by up to 28 percent across most resorts, with projections of a further decline by mid-century.
Locally, the write-down was seen as unsurprising. The head of the area’s chamber of commerce, who runs an accommodation business, said the previous valuation had been struck after an exceptional post-pandemic boom year, and that the resort was far from alone in facing a difficult season. She acknowledged community speculation about a possible sale but said she hoped the resort would remain in the hands of an owner who respected its history and the surrounding community.
