Size facilitates profitable ski lift operations

The book profits of 220 ski lift operators in Austria are analysed in order to identify the determinants relevant for business success. The median ratio of accounting profits to total assets was zero in 2013, while 43% had negative ‘book’ profits and another 12% had zero profits. Results using quantile regressions show that the ratio of book profits to total assets depends significantly on total length of ski slopes (size), maximum altitude of ski lifts, presence of a neighbour close by, the availability of nearby accommodation and the share of foreign overnight stays. Size usually has the greatest effect, which is even more pronounced in the lower part of the conditional distribution of the book profit ratio. Since size is the most important driver of the profit ratio, it can be expected that the pressure on, so far, untapped high alpine terrain will increase in the future.