Century Casinos has credited increases in revenue and profit for the third quarter to the impact of its acquisition of US casino properties from Eldorado Resorts.
Net operating revenue for the three months to September 30 reached $95.7m, up 80.7% from $52.9m in the corresponding period last year and a quarterly record for the operator.
Century said this growth was a result of its enlarged operation in the US, where revenue rocketed by 580.4% from $9.2m in Q3 of 2019 to $62.6m this year.
Since Q3 of last year, Century has added a number of new casinos to its portfolio, including the Isle Casino Cape Girardeau, Lady Luck Caruthersville and the Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort from the former Eldorado, prior to the operator completing its merger with Caesars Entertainment.
Century now operates five land-based casinos across Colorado, Missouri and West Virginia, all of which are now open again – albeit it with restrictions in place – after a period of closure from mid-March to early June due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
However, despite growth in the US, Century suffered elsewhere, with revenue in Canada falling 24.9% to $16.6m and Polish revenue 20.1% to $16.3m. Corporate and other revenue was also down 89.1% to $143,000.
Aside from revenue, Century also saw its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) reach a record $22.2m in Q3, up by 212.7% on the previous year.
“We are very pleased to report all-time records in quarterly net operating revenue and adjusted EBITDA driven by our recent acquisition of the Eldorado properties,” Century co-chief executives Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger said.
“The record results confirm the transformational nature the acquisition has had on the company, with 79% of our adjusted EBITDA coming from operations in the US.”
Total operating expenses for Q3 were $80.7m, up 63.0%. After including $10.6m in non-operating expenses, this left a $4.4m profit before tax, double the amount posted last year.
The operator paid $428,000 in income tax in the quarter, and when accounting for an additional $208,000 in loss attributable to non-controlling interests, this meant Century ended Q3 with a $3.7m net profit, up 677.6% year-on-year.
Looking at Century’s year-to-date performance, net operating revenue during the nine months to the end of September was $219.5m, up 45.4% on last year, as the new US casinos helped offset the impact of Covid-19.
US revenue was 436.0% higher at $139.9m, but Canadian revenue fell by 37.9% to $37.5m; Polish revenue 32.3% to $40.8m, and corporate and other revenue by 69.7% to $1.3m.
Adjusted EBTIDA was 46.3% higher at $30.0m, but operating costs hiked 68.4% to $238.3m and loss from operating costs amounted to $32.5m, compared to $3.2m last year.
This left Century with a pre-tax loss of $51.4m, down from a $6.3m profit at the same point in 2019, and after including income tax and loss attributable to non-controlling interests, net loss was £54.7m compared to a $985,000 profit in 2019.