Company officials said weekends in Las Vegas are “sold out for the foreseeable future”
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aesars Entertainment on Tuesday reported operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021, when it generated net revenues of $1.7 billion —an increase of 259.2% on a GAAP basis and a decrease of 16.0% on a same-store basis— and a net loss of $423 million, compared to a net loss of $176 million for the comparable prior-year period.
Same-store net revenues amounted to $1.9 billion and Adjusted EBITDA to $548 million, up from $410 million in the prior-year period.
Caesars CEO Tom Reeg commented in a press release: “Our first quarter results improved significantly versus the fourth quarter of 2020 as the pace of vaccinations across the country accelerated and consumers started to resume more normal behavior. We are excited to see the dramatic improvement in operating efficiencies throughout our enterprise which we believe are sustainable going forward.”
“Total occupancy for Q1 was 63%, with weekends at 85% and mid-week at 52%. March total occupancy was 77% and April was 84%,” President and Chief Operating Officer Anthony Carano said on a conference call, as reported by Market Watch. “Weekends in Las Vegas are sold out for the foreseeable future.” Reeg added that Caesars expects the 84% occupancy rate in April to improve in May and June.
“If you look at April — obviously, these are preliminary results on May 4th [and] frankly, they tend to typically move up after our preliminary results — but in April, we did over $300 million of consolidated Ebitda as a company,” Reeg said. “That was more than 25% ahead of 2019 numbers.”
“I’m not a guidance guy, but here’s a few things I expect will happen as we move forward,” Reeg said. “Absent a change in the public health situation, I would expect us to print a quarter of at least $1 billion of Ebitda in 2021. I’d expect us in 2022 to be at worst below five times gross lease adjusted leverage, with a reasonable possibility of being below four times.”
In Caesars’ Las Vegas segment, same store revenues declined 39.5% during the first quarter and adjusted EBITDA declined 26.7%. In its Regional segment, same store revenues were flat and same-store adjusted EBITDA increased 69.2%.
Caesars highlighted the closure of the William Hill PLC acquisition on April 22, and the expanded NFL relationship, becoming one of three official sports betting partners while extending Caesars exclusive casino and iGaming rights.
