Churchill Downs reports record 1st-quarter revenue
Churchill Downs Inc. reported record net revenue Wednesday of $590.9 million for the first three months of 2024.
In its quarterly report published just after the close of trading on NASDAQ Churchill said its profit rose 6 percent compared with the same quarter last year. Net income of $80.4 million was down 48 percent.
Before the report, the Churchill Downs share price on NASDAQ closed at $123.89, down 11 cents from Tuesday. In after-hours trading, the price shot up to $136.00 before settling at $131.00 by 5:15 p.m. EDT.
Record earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization reached $242.5 million, a 9 percent improvement from the winter quarter of 2023.
Live and historical segments of the CDI business were up 15 percent from the first quarter of 2023, and they rose 23 percent before adjustments. The same revenue figures for TwinSpires segments were up 18 and 35 percent, respectively.
A CDI news release said, “We announced the Rose Gaming Resort, which is scheduled to open in late September 2024 with 500 additional historic-racing machines for a total of 1,650 machines and $460 million total capital investment.
“We announced development plans for Owensboro Racing & Gaming with a planned opening in the first quarter of 2025, including 600 historic-racing machines, a retail sportsbook, simulcast wagering and multiple food and beverage offerings.
“We ended the first quarter of 2024 with net bank leverage of 4.1 times and maintained our commitment to returning capital to shareholders.
“We repurchased $22.0 million of shares under our share repurchase program in the first quarter of 2024.
“On Jan. 2, 2024, we closed on the previously announced repurchase of 1,000,000 shares for $123.75 per share from an affiliate of The Duchossois Group.
“On Jan. 5, 2024, we paid a $0.382 per share dividend to shareholders of record which represents the thirteenth consecutive year of an increased dividend per share.”
Company executives will have an earnings call Thursday at 9 a.m. EDT.