Century Casinos, Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results
Fourth Quarter 2023 Highlights*
Compared to the three months ended December 31, 2022:
2023 Highlights*
Compared to the year ended December 31, 2022:
"2023 was a transitional year for Century. We completed two major acquisitions to expand our US portfolio to seven casinos. We continued our large construction projects in Missouri, which remain on time and on budget to open in early April for the Cape Girardeau hotel and late 2024 for the Caruthersville casino and hotel," Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger, Co-Chief Executive Officers of Century Casinos remarked. "Unanticipated licensing delays that resulted in closures of three of our casinos in Poland in the fourth quarter caused earnings from operations in Poland to decrease compared to 2022. We have been awarded all three licenses, we reopened one casino in February 2024 and anticipate reopening the second casino this month and the final casino in a new location in the third quarter of 2024. We are excited to look forward to 2025, when our newly acquired casinos are fully integrated into the company and to what we anticipate will be our first year since 2022 with no significant construction or renovation disruptions at our properties," Messrs. Haitzmann and Hoetzinger concluded.
RESULTS
The consolidated results for the three months and years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 are as follows:
RESULTS BY REPORTABLE SEGMENT*
The Company's net operating revenue increased by $40.0 million, or 39%, and by $119.7 million, or 28%, for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the three months and year ended December 31, 2022. Following is a summary of the changes in net operating revenue by reportable segment for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the three months and year ended December 31, 2022:
The Company's earnings from operations decreased by ($1.2) million, or (9%), and by ($3.6) million, or (5%), for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the three months and year ended December 31, 2022. Following is a summary of the changes in earnings (loss) from operations by reportable segment for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the three months and year ended December 31, 2022:
Net earnings attributable to Century Casinos, Inc. shareholders decreased by ($6.8) million, or (168%), and by ($36.2) million, or (454%), for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the three months and year ended December 31, 2022. Following is a summary of the changes in net (loss) earnings attributable to Century Casinos, Inc. shareholders by reportable segment for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the three months and year ended December 31, 2022:
Items deducted from or added to earnings from operations to arrive at net (loss) earnings attributable to Century Casinos, Inc. shareholders include interest income, interest expense, gains (losses) on foreign currency transactions and other, income tax expense and non-controlling interests. Increased interest expense negatively impacted net loss attributable to Century Casinos, Inc. shareholders for the 2023 periods. For the year ended December 31, 2023, interest expense increased $13.0 million due to additional properties added to the Company's triple net master lease with subsidiaries of VICI Properties Inc.(the "Master Lease"), approximately $14.6 million due to increased borrowings under our Goldman Credit Agreement in April 2022 in connection with the Nugget Acquisition that was outstanding throughout 2023, increased interest rates on the term loan and borrowing on the revolving facility under our Goldman Credit Agreement, and $7.3 million related to the Century Downs Racetrack and Casino ("CDR") land lease debt extinguishment in connection with the sale of the real estate assets of the Company's Canada properties.
Adjusted EBITDAR** increased by $3.7 million, or 17%, and by $10.7 million, or 10%, for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the three months and year ended December 31, 2022. Following is a summary of the changes in Adjusted EBITDAR** by reportable segment for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the three months and year ended December 31, 2022:
BALANCE SHEET AND LIQUIDITY
As of December 31, 2023, the Company had $171.3 million in cash and cash equivalents compared to $101.8 million in cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had $346.8 million in outstanding debt compared to $366.4 million in outstanding debt at December 31, 2022. The outstanding debt as of December 31, 2023 included $343.9 million related to a term loan under the Company's credit agreement with Goldman Sachs Bank USA ("Goldman") and $3.0 million of bank debt related to Century Resorts Management GmbH ("CRM"). The Company also has a $658.0 million long-term financing obligation under the Master Lease.
CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION
Today the Company will post a copy of its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC for the year ended December 31, 2023 on its website at www.cnty.com/investor/financials/sec-filings/.
The Company will host its fourth quarter 2023 earnings conference call today, Thursday, March 14, 2024 at 8:00 am MDT. U.S. domestic participants should dial 1-800-343-5172. For all international participants, please use 203-518-9814 to dial-in. The conference ID is 'Casinos'. Participants may listen to the call live at http://join.eventcastplus.com/eventcastplus/Century-Casinos-Q4-2023-Earnings-Call or obtain a recording of the call on the Company's website until March 31, 2024 at www.cnty.com/investor/financials/sec-filings/.
* Amounts presented are rounded. As such, rounding differences could occur in period over period changes and percentages reported.
** Adjusted EBITDAR is a Non-US GAAP financial measure. See discussion and reconciliation of Non-US GAAP financial measures in Supplemental Information below.
** We define Adjusted EBITDAR as net earnings (loss) attributable to Century Casinos, Inc. shareholders before interest expense (income) (including interest expense related to the Company's triple net lease with VICI (the "Master Lease")), net, income taxes (benefit), depreciation, amortization, non-controlling interests net earnings (losses) and transactions, pre-opening expenses, acquisition costs, non-cash stock-based compensation charges, asset impairment costs, loss (gain) on disposition of fixed assets, discontinued operations, (gain) loss on foreign currency transactions, cost recovery income and other, gain on business combination and certain other one-time transactions. The Master Lease is accounted for as a financing obligation. As such, a portion of the periodic payment under the Master Lease is recognized as interest expense with the remainder of the payment impacting the financing obligation using the effective interest method. Intercompany transactions consisting primarily of management and royalty fees and interest, along with their related tax effects, are excluded from the presentation of net earnings (loss) attributable to Century Casinos, Inc. shareholders and Adjusted EBITDAR reported for each segment. Not all of the aforementioned items occur in each reporting period, but have been included in the definition based on historical activity. These adjustments have no effect on the consolidated results as reported under GAAP.
Adjusted EBITDAR is used outside of our financial statements solely as a valuation metric and is not considered a measure of performance recognized under GAAP. Adjusted EBITDAR is an additional metric used by analysts in valuing gaming companies subject to triple net leases such as our Master Lease since it eliminates the effects of variability in leasing methods and capital structures. This metric is included as supplemental disclosure because (i) we believe Adjusted EBITDAR is used by gaming operator analysts and investors to determine the equity value of gaming operators and (ii) financial analysts refer to Adjusted EBITDAR when valuing our business. We believe Adjusted EBITDAR is useful for equity valuation purposes because (i) its calculation isolates the effects of financing real estate, and (ii) using a multiple of Adjusted EBITDAR to calculate enterprise value allows for an adjustment to the balance sheet to recognize estimated liabilities arising from operating leases related to real estate.
Adjusted EBITDAR should not be construed as an alternative to net earnings (loss) attributable to Century Casinos, Inc. shareholders, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, as indicators of our performance. In addition, Adjusted EBITDAR as used by us may not be defined in the same manner as other companies in our industry, and, as a result, may not be comparable to similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures of other companies. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDAR should not be viewed as a measure of overall operating performance or considered in isolation or as an alternative to net earnings (loss) attributable to Century Casinos, Inc. shareholders, because it excludes the rent expense associated with our Master Lease and several other items.
*** The Company defines Adjusted EBITDAR margins as Adjusted EBITDAR divided by net operating revenue. Adjusted EBITDAR margins are a non-US GAAP measure. Management uses these margins as one of several measures to evaluate the efficiency of the Company's casino operations.
ABOUT CENTURY CASINOS, INC.:
Century Casinos, Inc. is a casino entertainment company. In the United States the Company operates the following operating segments: (i) in the East, the Mountaineer Casino, Resort & Races in New Cumberland, West Virginia and Rocky Gap Casino, Resort & Golf in Flintstone, Maryland; (ii) in the Midwest, the Century Casinos in Cape Girardeau and Caruthersville, Missouri, and Century Casino & Hotels in Cripple Creek and Central City, Colorado; and (iii) in the West, the Nugget Casino Resort, in Reno/Sparks, Nevada. In Alberta, Canada the Company operates Century Casino & Hotel in Edmonton, the Century Casino in St. Albert, Century Mile Racetrack and Casino in Edmonton and Century Downs Racetrack and Casino in Calgary. In Poland, the Company holds eight casino licenses and currently operates six casinos through its subsidiary Casinos Poland Ltd. The Company continues to pursue other projects in various stages of development.
Century Casinos' common stock trades on The Nasdaq Capital Market® under the symbol CNTY. For more information about Century Casinos, visit our website at www.cnty.com.
This release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of the management of Century Casinos based on information currently available to management. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding projects in development and other opportunities, including our Missouri construction projects, reopening our Poland casinos, our credit agreement with Goldman and obligations under our Master Lease and our ability to repay our debt and other obligations, outcomes of legal proceedings, changes in our tax provisions or exposure to additional income tax liabilities, and plans for our casinos and our Company including expectations regarding 2024, 2025 and later results. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include, among others, the risks described in the section entitled "Risk Factors" under Item 1A in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and in subsequent periodic and current SEC filings we may make. Century Casinos disclaims any obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by it or on its behalf.
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