Golden Entertainment sees record cash flow, quarterly adjusted earnings in Q1

The Strat hotel casino sold out its allowable hotel rooms every weekend of April.

2021-05-07

Reading time 1:29 min

The company announced Thursday a 15.7% increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2021, a positive net income of $10.6 million and record quarterly Adjusted EBITDA of $59.5 million. Officials said Golden is well-positioned to take advantage of the return of conventions and trade shows in Las Vegas.

Golden Entertainment reported a 15.7% increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2021, reaching $239.7 million, a positive net income of $10.6 million and record quarterly Adjusted EBITDA of $59.5 million.

A year ago, the company that operates The Strat Hotel Casino in Las Vegas reported a net loss of $32.6 million, $1.17, on revenue of $207.2 million.

The company said that all casino properties and distributed gaming operations exceeded Q1 2019 Adjusted EBITDA levels except The Strat, whose occupancy "improved significantly" during the quarter, with monthly Adjusted EBITDA growing materially from year end 2020 to Q1 2021.

Blake Sartini, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Golden Entertainment, commented: “Our first quarter operating results reflect significantly improved revenue and net income, and record quarterly Adjusted EBITDA. These results highlight strong demand at our properties combined with substantial margin improvement due to the adjustments we have made to our operations. Our Company generated over $40 million of cash in the quarter, with current trends continuing across both our casino and distributed gaming segments."

"As the year continues, we expect that our free cash flow will allow us to reduce leverage and return capital to shareholders while also providing added financial flexibility to pursue potential strategic growth initiatives,” Sartini added.

Golden President and Chief Financial Officer Charles Protell said in a conference call with investors that the company is well-positioned to take advantage of the return of conventions and trade shows. Even though the Strat doesn’t have the facilities to host any large shows, it can accommodate affiliated events with its amenities. Sartini said the Strat sold out its allowable hotel rooms every weekend of April.

Furthermore, Brad Goldberg, Golden’s senior vice president of marketing, said a concert series in the Laughlin Event Center should fill rooms at Golden’s Aquarius and Edgewater properties. Live music is on the summer calendar with America, Darci Lynne, the Little River Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Miranda Lambert and Toby Keith scheduled throughout the summer.