Cannon Mountain reported an estimated operating profit of up to $900,000 during the 2012-13 ski season, mountain General Manager John DeVivo told the Cannon Mountain Advisory Commission last month.
Since fiscal 2008, the mountain has generated an average operating profit of $515,000 annually.
For the 2012-13 season, skier visits were up 25 percent from the prior (and relatively snowless) season and were within 3 percent of Cannon's record season. The mountain's revenue was up 23 percent while expenses were down 1 percent vs. the prior season.
The commission discussed ways to pay down the Cannon Mountain Capital Improvement Fund's accumulated deficit of $372,000. The CMCIF is funded by annual lease payments from Mount Sunapee Ski Area, which the state leased in 1998 in order to fund capital improvements at Cannon. The annual payments from Mount Sunapee have totaled $372,000 less than what the $6 million revolving CMCIF has spent in bond issuances since 1999.
State Treasurer Catherine Provencher, state Sen. Jeb Bradley and State Parks & Recreation Director Phil Bryce pledged to work together to craft legislation that would direct Cannon's annual surplus to paying down the CMCIF debt, supporting the state parks budget and to pay for improvements at Cannon.
Cannon plans $717,000-worth of capital projects this summer, including $400,000 for snowmaking improvments, $167,000 for water and power upgrades and $150,000 to replace the Peabody Express Quad haul rope.
To read the advisory commission meeting minutes and get all the financial nitty gritty, click here.
