International Speedway 3Q Falls Short, Shares Tumble

Shares of International Speedway (NASDAQ:ISCA) fell more than 7% Thursday after the racetrack operator posted disappointing third-quarter earnings as sales slumped on scheduling changes.

The Daytona Beach, Fla.-based motorsports facilities operator posted a net loss of $1 million, or 2 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $9.7 million, or 20 cents.

Excluding one-time costs, International Speedway said it earned $600,000, or a penny a share, below average analyst estimates of 8 cents in a Thomson Reuters poll.

Revenue for the three months ended Aug. 31 was $115.9 million, down from $150.3 million, missing the Street’s view of $127 million.

International Speedway CEO Lesa France Kennedy blamed the results in part to scheduling changes, particularly the timing of the NASCAR weekend at Kansas Speedway and a NASCAR Nationwide series event the company no longer promotes.

Excluding the negative impacts of those changes, Kennedy said total revenues for the quarter were down just slightly, approximately by 3% from the comparable period, putting International Speedway’s core business results within its own expectations.

“We remain encouraged with many aspects of our business despite the ongoing affects of the sluggish economy, which continues to impact on our attendance-related revenues,” she said, adding that corporate partner support for the industry remains robust and certain consumer trends are moving in the right direction.

The company has also aligned with NASCAR as it executes its five-year industry action plan, which includes improving the event-day experience for guests, and is increasing its focus on engaging younger consumers.

However, the racetrack maintained the low end of its 2012 revenue guidance of $610 million and sees fiscal 2012 non-GAAP earnings to the low end of its earlier forecast of $1.50 a share. Analysts are looking for earnings of $1.56 on sales of $621.1 million.