Caesars Entertainment, the debt-saddled casino giant whose Strip properties include Caesars Palace, Paris and the Flamingo, announced its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings today.
Company: Caesars Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: CZR)
Revenue:$2.13 billion for the fourth quarter of 2014, up 6.3 percent from the same quarter the year before. For the year, Caesars’ net revenue was $8.52 billion, up 3.6 percent from 2013.
Loss: $1.01 billion for the quarter, a 42.5 percent improvement from the fourth quarter of 2013. For the year, Caesars’ net loss was $2.77 billion, a 6 percent improvement from the year before.
Loss per share: $7.00 for the quarter, compared to $12.83 in the fourth quarter of 2013. For the year, Caesars’ loss per share was $19.45, compared to $22.93 in 2013.
What it means: Caesars said its fourth quarter results did well compared to 2013 partly due to the opening of The Cromwell, the High Roller and the Horseshoe Baltimore. New hospitality offerings and more than $60 million of incremental revenue from Caesars’ interactive wing also helped.
But the company took a big hit at Caesars Palace, where it faced about $60 million in unfavorable hold compared to the year before. Caesars said high start-up costs from new properties and food and beverage offerings, as well as overhead expenses, were other negative factors in the quarter.
Casino revenue for the fourth quarter was $1.37 billion, a 1.6 percent increase from 2013’s fourth quarter. Room, food and beverage and other revenue increased 4.6 percent, 8.9 percent and 34.2 percent, respectively.
Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, the largest operating division of Caesars, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year in an attempt to reduce its $18.4 billion debt by about $10 billion.
The company’s restructuring plan involves transforming the division, which owns Caesars Palace, into a real estate investment trust. Caesars has said it will merge with one of its affiliates, Caesars Acquisition Company, to help fund the restructuring.
“Upon completion of the merger and restructuring, Caesars Entertainment will be a financially stronger company with significantly reduced leverage and a much simpler and more straightforward corporate structure,” CEO Gary Loveman said in a conference call with analysts. He said he couldn’t take specific questions about the restructuring.
Loveman, who’s been CEO of Caesars since 2003, is stepping down from the position this summer. He’ll be replaced by Mark Frissora, the former CEO of Hertz Global Holdings, on July 1. Loveman will stay on as chairman of the company.