ISC Records Strong FY Q4, But Overall '07 Earnings Down 26%

ISC, "pumped up by higher ticket sales," recorded a $22.5M profit in Q4 of FY '07, a "threefold gain," but its earnings for FY '07 dropped 26% to $86.2M, according to Thomas Brown of the Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL. ISC finished the year with record revenue of $816.6M, up 2.2% from '06, as "most of the gain resulted from ISC buying out a partner" and acquiring full ownership of Chicagoland and Route 66 raceways. ISC said it was "cautiously optimistic" its financial performance would improve in '08, with revenue "possibly reaching $825[M], despite the threat of a recession." ISC drew a total attendance of 3.9 million fans at its 13 tracks in FY '07, and ISC Chief Accounting Officer Dan Houser said the company will increase its ticket costs for NASCAR Sprint Cup races by 1-2%. Motorsports Authentics, in which ISC has a 50% share, "took a $47.2[M] bite out of" ISC's profits in '07, but ISC COO John Saunders said that "the business is recovering and will break even this year" (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 1/25). Q4 revenues increased to $253.5M with an operating income of $92.7M, up from $16.7M in the year-ago period. ISC put its Q4 losses from Motorsports Authentics at $34.8M  (SCENEDAILY.com, 1/24).