Operator News
Bad weather drives Penn down in Q1
By Phil - 7 May 2024
Severe weather conditions in January and February saw Penn Entertainment report a 3.8 per cent fall in revenue to $1.61bn for the first quarter of the year.
Retail revenues of $1.4bn and EBITDA of $479m reflected the impact of severe weather throughout our portfolio in January and early February, followed by resilient performance in March and April. Penn’s interactive segment reported revenues of $208m and an EBITDA loss of $196m, which is a significant improvement from the fourth quarter.
Gaming revenue dipped by 5.1 per cent to $1.26bn, while revenue from hotel, food, beverage, and others were consistent at $348.6m. The Northeast segment remained the main revenue source for Penn, generating $648.7m, down 2.3 per cent. The South, Midwest, and West segments also fell whils iInteractive dropped by 11.1 per cent to $207.7m, a due to unfavorable hold from major sporting events.
Felicia Hendrix, Chief financial officer of Penn National Gaming, said: “The shortfall relative to our prior guidance is primarily due to lower-than-expected hold and spend per user. In the quarter, our expenses, including our marketing approach, remain disciplined as we continue to make improvements to our product offerings.
CEO and President Jay Snowden added: “We look forward to unveiling additional product enhancements and unique media integrations with ESPN ahead of the 2024 football season. Our improved online product offering will help engage, reactivate and retain our expanding database, while also advancing our strategy to create a highly differentiated experience for sports fans and sports bettors.”
“While we are pleased with the early ESPN Bet adoption and engagement results, our focus heading into this football season will be on enhancing our product offerings, including a refreshed home screen and expanded parlay offerings,” said Mr. Snowden. “Simultaneously, with our partners at ESPN, we will reveal additional ESPN Bet media integrations within their digital media app and industry-leading fantasy product.”
Ms Hendrix added: “We are updating our 2024 Retail guidance for the lower-than-expected first quarter results due to the severe January and early February weather. For the full year of 2024, we now expect Retail revenues to range from $5.61bn to $5.76bnand adjusted EBITDAR to range from $1.88bn to $2bn. Our new guidance continues to factor in stable customer demand, new supply in Nebraska, Illinois, Louisiana and road construction in a few markets. For the Interactive segment in 2024, we now expect to generate revenues of $1.02bn to $1.07bn and an adjusted EBITDA loss range of $475m to $525m. This guidance includes our New York launch prior to football season.”
