Caesars Entertainment cut its net loss by 80.0% during the first quarter of 2022 following a 23.5% increase in revenue, driven by growth in Las Vegas and its digital business.
Revenue was higher across all segments for the three months to March 31, with one of the main highlights for Caesars being its digital business reporting positive revenue. Last year, the operator posted a loss for the division.
Caesars also reported growth within its Las Vegas segment, to the point that the division was able to significantly close the gap on its regional operations division, which remain its primary source of revenue in Q1.
“We delivered another strong quarter led by a new Q1 Adjusted EBITDA record in Las Vegas,” Caesars chief executive Tom Reeg said. “Results in our regional segment remained consistent with prior quarters especially when excluding the impact of bad weather in northern Nevada during the quarter.
“Our digital segment was nearly break even in the quarter despite launching operations in Ohio and Massachusetts.”
Q1 results
Total revenue for the first quarter was $2.83bn, up 23.5% from $2.29bn in the previous year.
Casino revenue for the quarter climbed 22.7% to $1.56bn, while food and beverage revenue jumped 26.0% to $427m, hotel revenue was up by 31.3% to $503m and other revenue increased 13.3% to $315m.
In terms of divisional performance, regional operations generated $1.39bn in revenue, up 2.2% year-on-year, while Las Vegas revenue was 23.7% higher at $1.13bn.
Digital revenue improved from a loss of $53m to post $238m in revenue, while managed and branded revenue grew 4.5% to $69m and corporate and other revenue hit $3m.
Turning to expenses, operating costs were 3.3% lower at $2.23bn, though finance expenses increased 43.8% to $788m. This left a pre-tax loss of $185m, an improvement on the $558m loss posted last year.
Caesars received $49m in tax benefits, meaning overall net loss for the quarter was $136m, compared to $680m in Q1 of 2022. In addition, adjusted EBITDA improved by 223.7% year-on-year to $958m.