SMI saw positive trend lines in overall and youth attendance at its tracks as the company reported gains in total revenue and net income for Q2. Among its eight tracks, SMI hosted five major NASCAR weekends in Q2 (including one that also featured an IndyCar race), along with three NHRA events and multiple concerts. In the crucial admissions revenue category that is the industry’s best gauge on attendance trends, revenue was down 1.7%, from $29.6M last year to $29.1M this year. However, SMI CFO & Vice Chair Bill Brooks this morning in an earnings call noted that this decline was smaller than the declines SMI had seen in similar quarters in recent years, which management believes is a sign that they are starting to narrow the attendance gap. SMI was up in contractual broadcast revenue, and the track operator also said it saw some attendance increases for non-NASCAR events, though it declined to specify whether those were NHRA events or otherwise. Total expenses for SMI were up slightly overall, but the track did see a 4.3% downtick in the direct expense of events category, in part because SMI said it has fortuitously had to deal with less race delays and postponements this year. All told, total revenue was up 2% to $179.3M, and net income or profit was up about 10.5% to $27.3M in Q2 this year. At presstime, shares of SMI were trading at $20.33, up 9.4% from the close of business yesterday.
BULL MARKET? During the earnings call, SMI President & CEO Marcus Smith said among the indicators that are making him bullish on the future -- on top of the narrowing attendance declines -- is an uptick in youth attendance as a result of new ticket policies put in place this year across NASCAR. SMI is offering $10 tickets to Monster Energy Cup Series events for kids 12 and under, while all NASCAR tracks are offering free admission to kids 12 and under for the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series. Smith said the uptick is in the thousands. Smith also said he is bullish that Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s decision to join NBC next year will help out the sport, because it ensures he will be at the track -- and on TV in front of fans -- for years to come. Smith: “I don’t want to overstate it, but (the new youth ticket policies have) been very well received and we’re encouraged by that. And anecdotally, you’ve got a really neat thing with NBC bringing Dale Jr. into the booth next year when he retires from full-time on track racing, and that will give all the longtime race fans a face in the booth that they want to see.”
