The arrows, and outlook, pointed upward for Monarch Casino and Resort during the first quarter. The Reno-based casino operator reported progress on the makeover for its Black Hawk, Colorado, casino, posted record revenue and had earnings per share that rose from a year earlier and met Wall Street forecasts.
In a statement Wednesday, Monarch said its net income was $7 million, or 38 cents per diluted share for the three months ended March 31, matching the 38 cents-per-share forecast of analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research. A year earlier, the company had net income of $6.7 million, or 36 cents per share.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, a cash flow measure that excludes nonrecurring costs, rose 7 percent to $13.7 million from $12.8 million.
Revenue rose 4.3 percent to a record $58.7 million from $56.3 million. The latest result topped the $56.4 million in revenue forecast by Zacks-polled analysts.
In a statement accompanying the earnings, Monarch said first-quarter revenue rose at both its Black Hawk hotel-casino, where food and beverage and hotel revenue rose 4.5 percent and at its Atlantis hotel-casino in Reno, where food and beverage and hotel revenue rose 33.7 percent.
The company said it had spent $102 million upgrading Black Hawk’s existing property and expects to finish the project in the fourth quarter at a total projected cost of $110 million to $112 million.
Monarch completed a $41 million parking garage and spent $172 million toward the hotel tower and casino expansion, which it expects to finish in the third quarter. Monarch projected the total hotel tower and casino cost at $264 million to $269 million.
The company said it had spent $233 million toward the expansion’s projected $320 million to $330 million total cost.
“Monarch, which has doubled in the last three years is now less than six months away from opening its transformational Blackhawk property,” said Macquarie gaming analyst Chad Beynon. “What has been most impressive is that the company has continued to grow during renovations, while coming in above expectations.”
For the total Black Hawk makeover — of the existing property upgrades and expansion — Monarch said it had spent $335 million toward a projected total cost of $430 million to $442 million.
“The anticipation of our transformation of Monarch Casino Black Hawk is plainly evident to all Black Hawk visitors,” Monarch CEO John Farahi said in a statement. “We are building a first-class team which is preparing for the grand opening later this year.
“We believe our relentless focus on improving our operations along with Monarch’s industry-best balance sheet will continue to deliver attractive long-term shareholder returns.”
In its forward-looking statements, though, Monarch warned that it hadn’t yet entered a guaranteed maximum price contract with its Black Hawk contractor and that negotiations could involve disputes, perhaps over costs or responsibility for delays.
Monarch shares fell $1.69, or 3.7 percent, Wednesday to close at $44 on the Nasdaq. The shares have risen 2.2 percent in the past 12 months.
Follow Matthew Crowley on Twitter @copyjockey
