SMI turns a profit, but revenue down

UPDATE Admissions revenue at Speedway Motorsports Inc. tracks has dropped 16.7 percent for the first half of 2010, the company reported Wednesday. Of the drop, 44 percent is attributed to lower ticket prices and 56 to decreased attendance for the events. SMI tracks had 14 Sprint Cup and Nationwide races from January-June 2010, the same number as 2009. SMI President Marcus Smith said that ticket sales have increased over the three weeks leading up to events, but several SMI races were impacted by inclement weather. That was especially true at Texas Motor Speedway, where the Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup races were postponed by rain until Monday, according to the SMI news release. The ticket sales for Charlotte Motor Speedway also were down possibly because of its postponed race from a year ago. Typically, a rainout will cost the company one or two cents per share, said SMI Chief Financial Officer Bill Brooks. That would translate to approximately $420,000-$840,000. As far as the overall balance sheet, SMI showed a net profit of nearly $32 million in the first half of 2010, compared with a loss of $3.1 million last year, which included a loss of $55.6 million from the devaluation of Motorsports Authentics in the first six months of 2009. SMI showed a net profit of $77.9 million in the first half of 2008. Scene Daily

08/04/10 SMI today reported Q2 revenues of $177.6M, down from $191.9M in Q2 '09, citing declines in attendance and other event-related revenues due to weak economic conditions. Year-to-date revenues are also down to $296.1M, compared to $325.4M in '09. However, SMI had a Q2 net income of $23.0M, or $0.55 per share, compared to a net loss of $23.4M, or $0.55 per share, in the year-ago period. SMI PR