Hit by the economic downturn, consumers have cut back on discretionary spending like gambling trips at the same time that businesses have reduced spending on meetings in Las Vegas. "The impact of the economy on consumers' willingness to spend continued to affect our results throughout 2009," Harrah's Chairman and CEO Gary Loveman said in a statement. "The cost-reduction programs implemented at the end of 2008 helped mitigate the economy's impact on our operating margins last year."
Harrah's was acquired by private equity firms Apollo Management and TPG Capital in 2008 for us$ 31 billion. The company, which operates more than 50 casinos, mostly in the United States, posted net income of us$ 298.3 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of us$ 4.78 billion, when it wrote down the value of assets.
Income from operations rose 15 % to us$ 163 million, Harrah's said, while net revenue fell 7.9 % to us$ 2.1 billion.