Viad Corp Reports Results for the 2023 Third Quarter

• Third quarter performance was strong and in line with guidance as demand for international leisure travel and live events grew
• Pursuit delivered record results with significant margin expansion
• GES continues to see healthy same-show Exhibition growth and new client wins at Spiro

Viad Corp (NYSE: VVI), a leading provider of experiential leisure travel and live events and marketing experiences, today reported results for the 2023 third quarter.

Financial Highlights

• Net income attributable to Viad of $41.3 million increased $3.2 million. Net income before other items of $43.3 million was essentially flat primarily due to higher Adjusted EBITDA, offset by increased interest expense and income attributable to non-controlling interests.
• Consolidated adjusted EBITDA* of $86.3 million increased $4.3 million primarily due to strong growth and margin performance at Pursuit.
• Revenue of $365.9 million decreased $16.8 million primarily due to the timing of major non-annual shows and the sale of our non-core audio visual business, partially offset by strong underlying growth.

* Refer to Table Two of this press release for a discussion and reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure to its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

Steve Moster, Viad’s president and chief executive officer, commented, “We delivered strong third quarter results in line with our prior guidance ranges. Pursuit posted record results during our peak summer season and benefited from increased international visitation and solid demand. GES’ results were at the high-end of our guidance ranges and reflect continued strength in live events.”

Moster continued, “We are thrilled with our year-to-date performance and the continued positive momentum we are experiencing at both Pursuit and GES. We are on track to deliver strong full year growth in 2023 and are very optimistic about our growth prospects for next year.”

Pursuit Results

* Refer to Table Two of this press release for a discussion and reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure to its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

• Pursuit revenue of $186.9 million increased $23.1 million (14.1%) from the 2022 third quarter primarily due to higher visitation and revenue management efforts to capture higher revenue per guest.
• Pursuit adjusted EBITDA of $91.8 million improved by $16.7 million from the 2022 third quarter primarily due to higher revenue and improved margin.

Regarding Pursuit’s results, Moster commented, “Pursuit’s revenue and adjusted EBITDA, once again, reached a new all-time high for the quarter, reflecting increased international tourism in Western Canada and Iceland, as well as the strength of our Refresh, Build, Buy growth strategy. The year-over-year revenue flow-through to adjusted EBITDA was exceptionally high and drove significant margin expansion of about 330 basis points over the prior year.”

Moster continued, “We are very pleased with the strong demand for our iconic, unforgettable, and inspiring attractions and hotels. Our attractions posted year-over-year visitation growth of 15% and our hotels achieved a 10% increase in same-store RevPAR compared to the prior year. We remain confident in our ability to drive significant growth at Pursuit, and we are excited about the bright future ahead.”

GES Results

* Refer to Table Two of this press release for a discussion and reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure to its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

• Total GES revenue of $179.0 million decreased 18.3% from the 2022 third quarter primarily due to the timing of major non-annual shows and the sale of ON Services, which impacted year-over-year revenue by approximately $64 million, partially offset by strong underlying growth. Excluding major non-annual shows and ON Services, GES’ revenue grew approximately 16% versus the 2022 third quarter.
• Total GES adjusted EBITDA of negative $2.0 million decreased by $12.7 million from the 2022 third quarter primarily due to lower revenue.

Regarding GES’ results, Moster commented, “I am very happy with the strong underlying growth we delivered at GES that partially offset the impact of non-annual shows and the sale of ON Services. At Spiro, our existing corporate clients’ spend grew over the prior year, and we continued to win new clients in the large, fragmented experiential marketing sector. GES Exhibitions saw a 14 percent increase in same-show revenue from events produced in the U.S. We are encouraged by the solid momentum, and we remain committed to driving increased profitability and meaningful free cash flow at GES.”

Moster continued, “I am proud of our team’s focus on cost management and execution during this quarter of slower event activity. Our efforts to lower our cost structure and implement margin enhancing lean initiatives have positioned us well to deliver an Adjusted EBITDA margin of about 7 percent for the 2023 full year, which we expect will grow to more than 8 percent in 2024.”

Cash Flow and Balance Sheet Highlights

Our 2023 third quarter cash flow from operations was approximately $78 million and our capital expenditures totaled approximately $23 million. We paid approximately $2 million in cash dividends on our convertible preferred equity.

We ended the third quarter with total liquidity of $201.3 million, comprising cash and cash equivalents of $106.3 million and $95 million of capacity available on our revolving credit facility ($100 million total facility size, less $5 million in letters of credit). Our debt totaled $477.6 million, including $392 million outstanding on our Term Loan B, financing lease obligations of approximately $64 million (which primarily comprises real estate leases at Pursuit), and approximately $22 million in other debt.

In October, we amended our credit agreement to increase the size of Viad’s revolving credit facility by $70 million and pre-pay $70 million of the outstanding Term Loan B, which carries a credit spread that is 200 basis points higher than the current credit spread on our revolver. In addition to providing interest savings, this amendment also provides greater balance sheet flexibility to decrease or increase borrowings in both the United States and Canada based on the seasonality of our cash flows and growth investment opportunities.

Moster commented, “We will continue to proactively identify additional opportunities to reduce the cost of our debt. Looking ahead to next year, we expect robust operating cash flow generation from the business that will allow us to reduce our level of debt, while still selectively investing in high-return opportunities to continue scaling Pursuit through our Refresh, Build, Buy growth strategy.”

2023 Outlook

Regarding Viad’s outlook, Moster commented, “We are encouraged by our solid performance year-to-date and anticipate continued strong demand for Pursuit’s leisure travel markets and GES’ live events going forward. Based on this, we have raised the bottom end our full year guidance ranges.”

Our guidance for Viad consolidated is as follows:

Our guidance for Pursuit is as follows:

Our guidance for GES is as follows:

Conference Call Details

Management will host a conference call to review third quarter 2023 results on Thursday, November 2, 2023, at 5 p.m. (Eastern Time).

The conference call can be accessed with operator assistance by calling (404) 975-4839 or (833) 470-1428 and entering the access code 648440.

To avoid wait time and bypass speaking with an operator to join the call, participants can pre-register using the following registration link: https://www.netroadshow.com/events/login?show=c5603e16&confId=54687. After registering, a calendar invitation will be sent that includes dial-in information as well as unique codes for entry into the live call. We recommend that you register in advance to ensure access for the full call.

A live audio webcast of the call will also be available in listen-only mode through the "Investors" section of our website. A replay of the webcast will be available on our website shortly after the call and, for a limited time, by calling (929) 458-6194 or (866) 813-9403 and entering the conference ID 679131.

Additionally, we will post a supplemental presentation, containing highlights of our results, trends and outlook, on the “Investors” section of our website prior to the conference call. We will refer to this presentation during the call.

About Viad

Viad (NYSE: VVI), is a leading global provider of extraordinary experiences, including hospitality and leisure activities, experiential marketing, and live events through two businesses: Pursuit and GES. Our business strategy focuses on delivering extraordinary experiences for our teams, clients and guests, and significant and sustainable growth and above-market returns for our shareholders. Viad is an S&P SmallCap 600 company.

Pursuit is a collection of inspiring and unforgettable travel experiences in Alaska, Nevada, and Montana in the United States, in and around Banff, Jasper, and Vancouver in Canada, and in Reykjavik, Iceland. Pursuit’s collection includes attractions, lodges and hotels, and sightseeing tours that connect guests with iconic places.

GES is a global, full-service live events company offering a comprehensive range of services to the world's leading brands and event organizers through two reportable segments, Spiro and GES Exhibitions. Spiro is an experiential marketing agency that partners with leading brands around the world to manage and elevate their global experiential marketing activities. GES Exhibitions is a global exhibition services company that partners with leading exhibition and conference organizers as a full-service provider of strategic and logistics solutions to manage the complexity of their shows with teams throughout North America, Europe, and the Middle East.

For more information, visit www.viad.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains a number of forward-looking statements. Words, and variations of words, such as “will,” “may,” “expect,” “would,” “could,” “might,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “deliver,” “seek,” “aim,” “potential,” “target,” “outlook,” and similar expressions are intended to identify our forward-looking statements. Similarly, statements that describe our business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions, or goals also are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts and are subject to a host of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following:

• general economic uncertainty in key global markets and a worsening of global economic conditions;
• travel industry disruptions;
• the impact of our overall level of indebtedness, as well as our financial flexibility;
• identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting;
• seasonality of our businesses;
• the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our financial condition, liquidity, and cash flow;
• our ability to anticipate and adjust for new and emerging challenges presented by the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic on our businesses;
• unanticipated delays and cost overruns of our capital projects, and our ability to achieve established financial and strategic goals for such projects;
• our exposure to labor shortages, turnover, and labor cost increases;
• the importance of key members of our account teams to our business relationships;
• our ability to manage our business and continue our growth if we lose any of our key personnel;
• the competitive nature of the industries in which we operate;
• our dependence on large exhibition event clients;
• adverse effects of show rotation on our periodic results and operating margins;
• transportation disruptions and increases in transportation costs;
• natural disasters, weather conditions, accidents, and other catastrophic events;
• our exposure to labor cost increases and work stoppages related to unionized employees;
• our multi-employer pension plan funding obligations;
• our ability to successfully integrate and achieve established financial and strategic goals from acquisitions;
• our exposure to cybersecurity attacks and threats;
• our exposure to currency exchange rate fluctuations;
• liabilities relating to prior and discontinued operations; and
• compliance with laws governing the storage, collection, handling, and transfer of personal data and our exposure to legal claims and fines for data breaches or improper handling of such data.

For a more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties that may affect our business or financial results, please see Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” of our most recent annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC. We disclaim and do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement in this press release except as required by applicable law or regulation.

Forward-Looking Non-GAAP Measures

The company has not quantitatively reconciled its guidance for adjusted EBITDA to its respective most comparable GAAP financial measure because certain reconciling items that impact this metric, including provision for income taxes, interest expense, restructuring or impairment charges, acquisition-related costs, and attraction start-up costs have not occurred, are out of the company’s control, or cannot be reasonably predicted. Accordingly, reconciliations to the nearest GAAP financial measure are not available without unreasonable effort. Please note that the unavailable reconciling items could significantly impact the company’s results as reported under GAAP.