CNTY today announced their earnings ... Looking good.
Century Casinos Reports Record Results for 1999
CRIPPLE CREEK, Colo., March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Century Casinos, Inc.
(Nasdaq: CNTY) today reported record pretax income before goodwill
amortization and non-operating items of $5,362,191 for the year ended December
31, 1999 -- a 45.8% increase over the $3,679,005 reported for 1998. Net
operating revenue for the period was also a record $23,584,171 as compared to
$19,458,852 reported in 1998, representing a 21.2% year-over-year increase.
(Photo: newscom.com )
Net income for 1999 increased 15.2% to a record $2,221,097 or $0.15 per
share (basic and diluted) compared to net income of $1,927,889 or $0.13 per
share (basic and diluted) in 1998. Excluding the after-tax effects of
non-recurring items, income for the period increased 108% to $1,573,000 or
$0.11 per share as compared to $755,000 or $0.05 per share in 1998. Income
from operations increased by 72% in 1999 to a record $4,020,687 from
$2,337,501 in 1998.
EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization)
for the period increased 36.1% to a record $8,404,903 from $6,175,519 in 1998.
Excluding non-recurring items, EBITDA for 1999 increased 34.2% to $7,364,903
as compared to $5,488,038 in 1998.
Since 1996 the Company has increased its annual income from operations at
a compound annual growth rate (or "CAGR") of 139%, pre-tax income before
goodwill amortization and non-operating items at a 59% CAGR and EBITDA at a
88% CAGR.
"The last twelve months have been very exciting for us as our efforts to
improve operations and facilities at our core operation, Womacks Casino, are
clearly paying off" said Erwin Haitzmann, Chairman and CEO of Century Casinos.
"This combined with the Millennium Casino opening in Prague and our recently
announced successful applicant status in Caledon, South Africa, not only
punctuates an excellent 1999, but provides us with substantial growth
potential for the year 2000 and beyond. Furthermore, we are optimistic that
our stock, which closed yesterday at $1.31 per share, will eventually be
valued according to our financial success and exciting international growth
prospects."
Casino gross margin for Womacks Casino for the year increased to 61% from
59.3% during 1998. The Company attributes a portion of this increase to
operational improvements at the casino level. As a percentage of net
operating revenue, general and administrative expense decreased to 28.5% from
30.1% last year. Depreciation and amortization increased to $3,310,455 from
$2,996,680 in 1998. Most of this increase is attributed to depreciation
associated with gaming equipment purchased for the Millennium Casino in Prague
and equipment upgrades at Womacks Casino. Interest expense decreased slightly
to $999,922 from $1,023,906 in 1998. This decrease is due to a lower average
debt balance for 1999 as compared the previous year.
At December 31, 1999 the Company had more than $11.7 million of available
liquidity consisting of cash, cash equivalents and borrowing capacity under
the revolving credit facility with Wells Fargo Bank.
The Company will have a conference call and web cast on Thursday, March 16
at 9:00AM Mountain Standard Time (11:00AM EST) to discuss 1999 results, recent
developments and answer any questions from the investment community. Domestic
callers may access the conference call by dialing (800) 266-2145.
International callers can access the conference by dialing (212) 676-5415.
The web cast may be accessed via the internet at www.vcall.com. A press
release announcing this conference call will be circulated on Monday,
March 13.
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