Century Casinos Co-CEOs Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger expect 2024 to be a “transitional year” for the operator as it continues to develop and expand upon its current operations and portfolio.
Haitzmann and Hoetzinger added that they expect everything the company has been working towards across last year and this year to come to fruition in 2025.
Publishing its preliminary fourth quarter results, Century Casinos is estimating $140m to $145m in net operating revenue, up in comparison to $104m in Q4 2022.
The company is expecting a net loss of $14m for the quarter, down in comparison to a net loss of $4m during the same period last year.
Haitzmann and Hoetzinger noted: “We expect 2024 to be a transitional year for the company as we continue to integrate the Nugget and Rocky Gap operations into our portfolio and complete our two large construction projects in Missouri.
“We estimate our company-wide capital expenditures, excluding the Caruthersville project that we are financing through VICI, to be approximately $46m in 2024. We look forward to 2025, when we can see everything we are working towards in 2023 and 2024 coming to fruition without the disruptions we are currently experiencing.”
After repaying the $30m revolving facility with Goldman Sachs Bank USA that Century Casinos borrowed in July 2023 in connection with the Rocky Gap acquisition, the company has “agreed to buy back $3.5m of its term loan with Goldman at 97 per cent of the cost of the debt”.
This transaction is expected to take place later this month, and the company is currently able to borrow the full amount of the revolving facility.
In Poland, Century Casinos has secured licences to reopen two casinos it had to close in October last year due to the expiration of their licences. The casino in Bielsko-Biala is expected to reopen by the end of this month, while the casino in Katowice is expected to be operational again in mid-March.
While the company’s Wroclaw casino was closed in November due to its licence expiring, a new licence has been granted. The company expects to open the casino in a new location in mid-2024.
In Missouri, Century Casinos noted that construction of the hotel in Cape Girardeau – The Riverview – and a land-based casino and hotel in Caruthersville are on time and budget.
Cape Girardeau is expected to open in the first week of April, while the Caruthersville location will be operational by the end of the year.
The Caruthersville project is being financed by VICI Properties, “inclusive of approximately $19m of cash on hand that was previously funded by VICI but has not yet been spent on the project and is included in the company’s consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2023”.
Century Casinos is estimating an adjusted EBITDAR for Q4 of $24m to $26m, an increase against Q4 2022’s $22m, as well as cash and cash equivalents of approximately $171m, up in comparison to the previous year’s $102m.
Haitzmann and Hoetzinger stated: “We feel comfortable with our cash position and capex plan, and we continue to look for every opportunity to reduce operating costs going forward to maximise earnings and cash flow. In addition, we are evaluating ways to reduce our non-operating costs going forward.”
Century Casino is expecting to publish its full Q4 and full year 2023 financial results on March 14.
