Bally’s Corporation has praised its disciplined operating strategy as well as the easing of capacity restrictions as a key driver of growth during Q1 2021 – all of which have helped contribute to a ‘strong rebound’ for the operator.
Publishing its trading results for Q1, Bally’s recorded a 76.2% increase in revenues – rising from $109.1m to $192.3m. This, the operator explained, was largely due to an increase in demand as a result of easing COVID restrictions.
The incremental revenues of Casino KC, Casino Vicksburg, Bally’s Atlantic City and Eldorado Shreveport, which were acquired in the second half of 2020, also positively impacted performance.
George Papanier, President and CEO of Bally’s Corporation, explained: “This was a remarkable first quarter for Bally’s. As COVID-19 vaccinations rolled out, and capacity restrictions and other protocols loosened, we experienced a strong rebound in demand that led to a significant increase in visitation.
“As a result, we achieved record Adjusted EBITDA and continued margin expansion. As we approach historical operating levels, we are encouraged by the performance at many of our properties this quarter, which when coupled with ongoing capital initiatives, offer tremendous growth opportunities and the potential to deliver strong results over the coming quarters.
“During this quarter, we also continued to implement our disciplined M&A strategy. We closed our acquisition of Monkey Knife Fight, the fastest growing daily fantasy sports site in North America, and acquired SportCaller, a leading global B2B free-to-play game provider.”
Bally’s noted that during the quarter, it had seen strong operational efficiencies that positively impacted margins; a trend it says has benefited the company since reopening from the pandemic.
Income from operations totaled $29.5m, up from a loss of $3.1m last year – an increase which Bally’s said was its ‘strongest quarter since the second quarter of 2019’.
Meanwhile, net loss for the reporting period widened to $10.7m from $8.7m, with adjusted EBITDA up 137.9% to close at $52.5m, an increase of $30.4m from 2020’s $22.1m.
