Caesars Entertainment Inc has published its financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2021, recording improvements in revenue and adjusted EBITDA against a backdrop of net losses.
In the update CEO Tom Reeg, noted that its sportsbook ‘continues to exceed’ expectations in terms of customer registrations, deposits, and market share, especially in recently launched jurisdictions.
Turning to the headline Q4 figures, Caesars has reported net revenue improvement to $2.6bn compared to Q4 2020’s $1.6bn which was still impacted by COVID. For the full year, net revenue came in at $9.6bn, significantly higher than the previous year’s $3.6bn.
Las Vegas and Regional were the segments that saw the most revenue for the operator in the quarter (Las Vegas: $1.04bn, Q4 2020: $447m) (Regional: $1.36bn, Q4 2020: $1.03bn) and the full year (Las Vegas: $3.4bn, 2020: $751m) (Regional: $5.5bn, 2020: $2.66bn). Both segments bounced back in comparison with the previous year as restrictions were lifted.
However, despite the revenue improvements, Caesars still declared a net income loss for both Q4 and 2021. For the quarter, the loss came in at $434m (Q4 2020: $555m loss) while for the full year, the loss stood at $1.0bn (2020: $1.8bn loss).
The segments which had the biggest impact on losses over both measuring periods were Digital operations (Q4: $360m, 2021: $580m) as well as Corporate and Other operations (Q4: $436m, 2021: $1.785bn).
During the quarter, Caesars recorded an adjusted EBITDA of $581m (Q4 2020: $348m), while for 2021 adjusted EBITDA stood at $3bn (2020: $1.1bn).
Reeg told investors: “Our quarterly operating results reflect new fourth quarter records for adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin in both our Las Vegas and Regional segments.
“Caesars Sportsbook continues to exceed our expectations for new customer registrations, deposits and market share, especially in recently launched jurisdictions.”
Caesars Sportsbook is now live in 22 states and jurisdictions, 16 of which offer mobile wagering.
As of December 31, 2021, the firm had $14.3bn in aggregate principal amount of debt outstanding. Total cash and cash equivalents were $1.1bn, excluding restricted cash of $642m.
CFO Bret Yunker stated: “In 2021, we completed our acquisition of William Hill PLC and applied strong operating cash flows to debt reduction of approximately $1bn.
“We expect to continue to reduce debt in 2022 through the receipt of asset sale proceeds and generation of significant free cash flow.”
