Despite a $2.3-million loss for its first quarter ended July 27, Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. stock gained nearly 5 percent this week to close Friday (8/29) at $8.27 per share.
Stock in the St. Louis-based gambling firm – owner of the Bettendorf casino riverboat – had climbed to more than $10 per share in July after rumors surfaced about a possible buy-out of the company by a real estate investment trust. The stock price had since fallen to nearly $7 a share earlier this month before the recent run-up.
The first quarter loss of $2.3 million, or $6 cents a share, compares to a loss of $4.9 million, 12 cents per share, for the first quarter last year.
Net revenues totaled $241 million for the first quarter, compared to $238 million for the same period a year ago.
According to Isle President and CEO Virginia McDowell, operating results for the first quarter were hurt by $2.3 million in severance expenses related to a corporate restructuring, and $1 million spent on a voter referendum on whether to allow casinos at certain racetracks in Colorado. (The state's existing casinos are opposing the measure on the ballot in November.)
For the company's Iowa casinos in Bettendorf, Marquette and Waterloo, net revenues declined $200,000 to $47.3 million during the first quarter, compared to the same period in 2013. Isle management blamed the decline on road construction and softer tourism revenue at its Marquette casino.
At the Bettendorf casino, net revenues totaled $19.5 million, virtually the same as the first quarter last year.
CLICK HERE to download the Isle's first quarter earnings report.
