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Compagnie Des Alpes Reports Record Sales, Sells Verbier Stake

Published : 29-Jul-2009 07:10

Compagnie Des Alpes Reports Record Sales for Winter 2008-9

The Compagnie Des Alpes (CDA), the world's largest ski lift operator which runs more than a dozen leading French ski areas, has released its third quarter results which include the last month of the 08-09 ski season – April 2009.

The group reported record business with ski-lift ticket sales up 38% thanks mostly to the occurrence of Easter weekend during the month.

Thanks to the strong April business combined sales for winter 2008-9 were up 3% overall for the company, 2.3% for ski lifts ticket sales alone, from 2007-8, which had itself featured record visitor numbers.

"This steady activity in ski areas despite the general economic climate illustrates the resilience of our business line, which has experienced uninterrupted organic growth for more than ten years." said a company statement.

In addition the company reported that its wholly owned subsidiary SwissAlp SA, has reached agreement with the municipality of Bagnes to sell the totality of its stake in Téléverbier SA (20.3%) for about 13.8 million Euros.

"Acquiring its stake in 1999, CDA brought its widely recognized expertise to Téléverbier's development and governance. However, CDA has since determined that the particularities of the company and its environment prevent CDA from fully carrying out its role of industrial operator in the medium term." said a company statement.

CDA's Dominique Marcel commented, "The sale of the Group's stake in Téléverbier is in line with the more active asset-management policy that I announced at the end of 2008. The sale is being carried out under excellent financial conditions, providing a very satisfying return on CDA's initial investment."

"The capital gain yielded by the sale, about 1.5 million Euros, will have a positive impact on consolidated net income for the current financial year, helping pay down Group debt and making the Group more flexible both strategically and financially."

www.compagniedesalpes.com

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