Profits decline in Atlantic City casinos third quarter

Whilst October online gambling figures from Atlantic City licensees shone (see previous reports) the same cannot be said for the Q3-2018 results to end September released Friday by the New Jersey Division for Gaming Enforcement which told a tale of revenue growth but double-digit profit decline.

The period saw two new licensees entering the market in the shape of Hard Rock Atlantic City and the Ocean Resort Casino, which the regulator duly noted.

Nine New Jersey casino licensees combined delivered revenue of $920 million in the three months ending September 30, recording a creditable 17.8 percent year-over-year improvement over the same period last year,  bringing YTD numbers to $2.2 billion – up 6.4 percent.

However, the buoyant revenue growth did not translate into gross operating profit, which declined a worrying 15.3 percent to $213.7 million in the quarter, bringing YTD figures to $508.7 million…down 9.3 percent y-o-y.

Newcomers Hard Rock Atlantic City and the Ocean Resort Casino generated combined revenue of $178.5 million, with Hard Rock performing better on $8.2 million in profit terms.

Market leader Golden Nugget was one of only two licensees to report profit – up 6.6 percent at $13.6 million in Q3-2018. The other was Bally’s which posted a 0.5 percent y-o-y improvement to $16.4 million.

At the other end of the scale, the Tropicana suffered the largest profit dip in percentage terms; down 31.1 percent to $31.8 percent. Even the popular Borgata felt the pressure as its profit sank 21.7 percent to $63.2 million.

Completing a generally rather dismal quarterly picture, Caesars Interactive Entertainment New Jersey posted a 10.5 percent dip in revenue and a 69.4 percent y-o-y loss of 69.4 percent, whilst Resorts Digital saw revenue plunge  51.4 percent and profit tank 83.3 percent despite a stellar performance from the online casino vertical (se previous report)..

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