Caesars Reports Q1 Loss, But Looks to Bounce Back Stronger

Caused in great part by a near 40 per cent hit to its Las Vegas bricks-and-mortar revenues, Caesars Entertainment has filed a year-on-year US$423 million (£304.66m/€350.85m) net loss for Q1.

But, buoyed by its recent acquisition of the Entain Group, William Hill and the downward curve of Covid in the USA, it’s looking to bounce back off the ropes.

Overall, net revenue for America’s biggest casino and entertainment conglomerate fell 7.1 per cent over the quarter ending March 31 to US$1.7 billion (£1.22bn/€1.41bn) — although its non-Vegas regional revenue grew by over a quarter to US$1.11 billion (£799m/€920m).

Caesars revenue from its casino and pari-mutuel betting operations totalled US$1.14 billion (£821m/€945m) in Q1, with food and beverage bringing in US$166 million (£119.59m/€137.71m), hotels US$215 million (£154.9m/€178.35m) and other revenue streams garnering US$178 million (£128.25m/€147.66m).

The gaming and entertainment behemoth recorded first quarter operating expenses of US$1.51 billion (£1.08bn/€1.25bn); leaving an operating profit of US$186 million (£134m/€154.28m) for the period.

But “other” expenses of US$696 million (£501.43m/€577.32m), including US$563 million (£405.71m/€467.05m) in interest payments, left a loss of US$510 million (£367.53m/€423.08m) before tax.

Taking into consideration additional fiscal transactions, the company’s net loss was posted as US$423 million (£304.83m/€350.94m).

“As the pace of vaccinations across the country accelerated and consumers started to resume more normal behaviour, our first quarter results improved significantly [compared to] the fourth quarter of 2020,” stressed Caesars’ Chief Executive Tom Reeg.

“We are excited to see the dramatic improvement in operating efficiencies throughout our enterprise which we believe are sustainable going forward.”

Last month the US gaming giant finalized its acquisition of iconic British bookies William Hill.

Caesars is now planning to offload William Hill’s non-US verticals–among them 1,400 UK high street betting shops—and claw back a goodly percentage of the US$4 billion (£2.9bn/€3.33bn) outlay.