Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Tyler Batory: Okay. Great. And then a follow-up question on the show rotation topic. I mean when I think of show rotation, I know that what was traditionally the big 3 shows for you guys, IMTS, MINExpo, ConExpo as well and I noticed that you guys are not participating in ConExpo. Can you address that a little bit more? I’m assuming that was a strategic decision, maybe lower profitability there. But maybe just talk about that decision, if there’s anything else going on in terms of competitive dynamics in the industry between you and other major competitor out there?

Steve Moster: Absolutely. When we had a long relationship with ADM, which is the producer of ConExpo and had a long relationship with them. When we looked at the pricing that we would need in 2023, for us, financially, it didn’t make sense from a margin perspective. Some of the changes that we’ve made in the organization allows us to be a little bit more nimble and be more selective on what we’re picking from a profitability perspective. And so we did propose pricing that got us to that level of profitability and the organizer went in a different direction.

Tyler Batory: Okay. Great. I appreciate that detail. Switch gears to the Pursuit side of things. I think you had made a comment attraction visitation will be 95% of 2019 levels on a same-store basis. I’m just kind of interested, I mean, how conservative could that be? I know you’re missing the travel trade long-haul from Asia, but the commentary seems very positive. Broadly speaking, the demand for leisure travel seems quite strong. The restrictions in terms of getting to Canada that have been removed. So I guess I’m just a little bit surprised that you’re still only expecting 95% recovery in terms of the attraction visitations.

David Barry: Yes, I think we’re being cautious and it’s important that we do be cautious. We’ve been surprised with things before. I think what we have is a number that’s very achievable and we’re focused on it. There’s still a lot of parts of recovery that are not certain. But definitely, while we feel momentum, we’re cautiously optimistic and encouraged. And I sense your enthusiasm, I applaud your enthusiasm, but my jobs could be steady on the wheel. So that’s what we’re going to do.

Tyler Batory: Okay. I appreciate that. And I think the last question for me, Steve, the sale of ON Services, it was small. But can you just talk a little bit more about the rationale behind that? And then I’m not sure on the M&A side of things, such as anything else that might make sense from either a sale perspective or perhaps what you’re looking at from an acquisition side of things as well?

Steve Moster: Yes. That’s a great question, Tyler. So you’ve seen some of the strategic decisions we’ve made within the GES portfolio. So we specifically have pulled out and organized the GES Exhibition team and then also our marketing agency team Spiro. And in doing so we really had a laser focus on simplifying the overall cost structure around exhibition. And as we look forward, the AV business for us in this strategy was really — it didn’t fit in well with us. It was a nonstrategic asset. And so we took the opportunity to sell the asset and feel good about that.And so when we look forward, a lot of our focus will be from a capital allocation perspective, as seen in the past, we’ve been investing on the Pursuit side of the business while we continue to improve the profitability on the GES side, and we’ll continue to do that.

Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Barry Haimes with Sage Asset Management.