Churchill Downs reported a strong full year 2016 performance primarily attributed to its overall social and online divisions despite a decline in social casino.
Key performance highlights for the twelve months ending December 31, 2016 include an increase of $96.3 million in net revenue driven primarily by a $72.5 million increase from Big Fish Games, mainly from casual and mid-core free-to-play game growth, and a $20.4 million increase from TwinSpires which the company attributes to a 23 percent increase in active players.
TwinSpires delivered a net revenue increase of $20.6 million, up 10 percent, and reported growth in handle of $131.8 million, or 14 percent, outpacing the U.S. thoroughbred industry performance by 13.1 percent. Adjusted EBITDA grew $6.6 million primarily driven by the favorable impact of increased wagering.
Big Fish Games’ casual and mid-core free-to-play bookings grew $59.8 million due to a 29 percent increase in average paying users and an 8 percent increase in average bookings per paying user. The strong result was offset by social casino whose net revenue declined $10.9 million due to a reduction in bookings.