Peak Resorts Inc., the Wildwood-based owner and operator of ski resorts, reported a fiscal 2017 first-quarter loss of $7.9 million, wider than the nearly $7.1 million loss it reported in the same period last year.
Revenue for the recent quarter grew 31 percent from the first quarter of fiscal 2016, to $7.1 million. Resort operating expenses were up $1.6 million over the prior year’s quarter.
“During the first quarter, we made substantial progress in our strategic plan for the long-term, financial stability of Peak Resorts, which includes a purposeful effort to strengthen our balance sheet and capital structure,” President and CEO Tim Boyd said Thursday in a statement.
Last month, Peak announced an agreement to sell $20 million of its Series A cumulative convertible preferred stock and common-stock purchase warrants to CAP 1 LLC, an affiliate of Summer Road LLC. As part of the deal, Summer Road will have rights to a seat on Peak’s board of directors.
The transaction is expected to be completed in early November.
The proceeds of the offering will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.
“This investment is expected to provide us with increased financial flexibility, as well as ensure that we are well-positioned to execute on our strategy to grow our company, both organically and through strategic acquisition,” Stephen Mueller, Peak Resorts’ chief financial officer, said in the company’s quarterly earnings release.
In May, the company announced a $52 million foreign-investor-funded project to expand a Vermont property. Those funds, however, have been delayed as the company waits on approval from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) EB-5 Program.
Peak Resorts operates more than a dozen ski resorts primarily in the Northeast and Midwest, 13 of which are company owned. It owns Hidden Valley in Wildwood.