As the month of February drew to a close, Caesars Entertainment recapped the company’s overall performance for 2021.
Even with a strong commitment to expanding the company’s sports betting market share in the legal US industry, the most impressive figures were reserved for Caesars Entertainment’s vast interests in casino gaming.
Caesars Entertainment 2021 Financial Performance
One of the most notable highlights was the company’s strong performance in the final quarter of the year. Net revenues for the 4th quarter of 2021 topped $2.6 billion. This reflected a sizable increase from the $1.6 billion Caesars took in during the same quarter in 2020. The total net revenue for 2021 increased to $9.6 billion for the entire year.
The net loss for the fourth quarter of last year was reported to be $434 million. This is down substantially from the posted $555 million loss in the final quarter of 2020. The overall net loss for last year was around $1 billion. This is also a major improvement from the $1.8 billion loss in 2020.
Tom Reeg is the Caesars Entertainment’s Chief Executive Officer. As part of the company’s report, he stated:
“Our quarterly operating results reflect new fourth-quarter records for Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin in both our Las Vegas and Regional segments”
When it came to the company’s efforts behind its sports betting business, Reeg added:
“Caesars Sportsbook continues to exceed our expectations for new customer registrations, deposits and market share, especially in recently launched jurisdictions.”
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Moving Forward in 2022
Also part of the call with investors were future plans for the remainder of 2022. At the top of the list was the planned sale of one of Caesars’ Las Vegas Strip properties.
Addressing this issue, Reeg stated that “the next time we talk to you about a Strip asset sale, it will be to announce that sale.”
The company was pleased with having exceeded its synergy targets related to the July, 2020 merger with Eldorado Resorts. Also part of the report was a note that casino occupancy during the 4th quarter of 2021 reached 86% with weekend occupancy topping out at 94%.
Summarizing Caesars Sportsbook’s market presence, the company is now live with legal sports betting in 22 different states. The mobile sportsbook app is available in 16 of those 22 markets.
While the optimism for growth in the sports betting segment remains high, there will be some major adjustments in spending. A plan was presented for sharp decreases in promotional spending. This reduction is tied directly to achieving the target goal for customer acquisition.
Part of these reduction plans reflect Caesars Sportsbook fast start in the New York mobile betting market. However, the success in gaining early market share came at a very steep price.
Future spending will be confined to new market entries for its sports betting division. The announcement that the company would be reducing its advertising dollars had an immediate impact on the company’s stock price with shares increasing close to 6%.
An effort to reduce overall company debt in 2022 also drew a positive response from investors.
