After a successful second quarter earnings report Wednesday, Town Sports International (TSI) saw its stock price skyrocket today.
TSI’s stock, which is traded on NASDAQ, soared to a 52-week high of $9.88 during afternoon trading, a 29.5 percent increase from Wednesday’s closing price of $7.63. Zacks Investment Research recently gave TSI shares a No. 1 rank (strong buy).
On Wednesday, the New York-based company reported its best results since the fourth quarter of 2008. TSI’s revenue increased 0.7 percent in second quarter 2011 to $118.3 million compared to second quarter 2010 ($117.4 million). Comparable club revenue increased 1.5 percent and ancillary club revenue increased 11.4 percent in second quarter 2011 compared to the same period last year. Personal training revenue experienced 7.2 percent growth, TSI’s highest personal training growth in more than two years.
Also, adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was $24.3 million in second quarter 2011, a 26.3 percent increase compared to adjusted EBITDA of $19.3 million in second quarter 2010.
“We’re very proud of our second quarter results, and the initiatives that are now driving our renewed growth,” TSI CEO Bob Giardina told analysts during the call. Those initiatives include a student- and teacher-restricted membership program, which has produced 12,000 members since the end of first quarter 2011, and 20,000 members since the end of second quarter 2010, Giardina added.
All told, TSI gained 7,000 net new members in second quarter 2011, bringing its total to 517,000 compared to 496,000 in second quarter 2010. Giardina said that TSI has added a total of 24,000 new members in the first half of 2011. Attrition decreased slightly, from 3.3 percent per month in second quarter 2010 to 3.2 percent per month in second quarter 2011.
“What I really liked about our growth in the second quarter is that it was multifaceted,” Giardina told analysts. “It came from new members, improvements in our attrition rate, nice growth in personal training, and an increase in our joining fee of more than 40 percent to $64.”
NEXT PAGE: TSI RAISES EXPECTATIONS FOR THIRD QUARTER
The net loss for TSI in second quarter 2011 was $410,000 compared to the net loss of $815,000 in second quarter 2010.
TSI raised its expectations for third quarter 2010 to between $116 million and $117 million compared to $113.1 million for third quarter 2010.
TSI plans to open two new clubs in fourth quarter 2011, clubs that Giardina said have been in the works since 2008. The two suburban clubs—one in Garnerville, NY, and the other in Bayonne, NJ—will each be about 30,000 square feet and cost about $4 million to build, Giardina said.
“We’re excited about their potential,” Giardina said. “We believe after not signing a lease for a new site since 2008 that there are some pent-up great opportunities out there. With that said, any decision we make about club growth will include only modest growth and will not disrupt our plans to continue to expand our free cash flow.”
The company plans to invest $29 million to $32 million in capital expenditure in 2011, an increase from $22 million in 2010. Giardina said there are currently no leases signed for 2012 but added that the company would at most open two to three clubs in the latter part of next year. Those leases likely would be for smaller clubs (about 15,000 to 20,000 square feet), cost less than $3 million to build and placed in urban markets, Giardina added.
“All areas of our business are moving in the right direction, and we did not rely on economic rebound for this to take shape,” Giardina said. “To my delight, the improvements made for the business are ahead of where I thought we would be 12 months ago. So if you can’t tell, we are excited about our current business momentum, our outlook for the rest of the year and next year and our ability to deliver on the goals we have previously stated.”
TSI’s momentum follows a refinancing of its $350 million debt earlier this year. Just a few weeks ago, Giardina and TSI were honored at NASDAQ with the ringing of the bell.
TSI operates New York Sports Clubs, Boston Sports Clubs, Philadelphia Sports Clubs and Washington Sports Clubs.