Full House Resorts Inc., a regional casino operator headquartered in Las Vegas, said its fourth-quarter loss widened from a year earlier as winter weather slowed visitation to company hotels in the South and Midwest.
In a statement Thursday, Full House said its lost $3.7 million, or 16 cents per diluted share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with a loss of $2.5 million, or 12 cents per diluted share, a year earlier.
The loss was wider than the 3 cents-per-share loss forecast of analysts polled by Yahoo Finance.
Fourth-quarter revenue fell 0.5 percent to $37.8 million from $38.2 million.
The company said adverse weather and higher increased health and benefit costs hurt results.
“Snowstorms and prolonged icy weather conditions significantly impacted visitation in both the Midwest and the South, including on New Year’s Eve,” Full House Resorts President and CEO Dan Lee said in a statement. “Additionally, Hurricane Nate resulted in the temporary shutdown of casinos along the Gulf Coast, including Silver Slipper, on a key weekend. Ironically, Grand Lodge Casino in Lake Tahoe suffered from a lack of snow at local ski areas for the winter. During periods with normal weather, business levels remained solid.”
Full House, which owns hotel-casinos in Mississippi, Colorado, Indiana and Nevada, narrowed its full-year loss to $5 million, or 22 cents per diluted share, from a net loss of $5.1 million, or 26 cents per diluted share, a year earlier.
Full-year revenue rose 10.5 percent to $161.3 million from $146 million.
The company said revenue increases in every operating segment, and a full year of ownership of Bronco Billy’s in Cripple Creek, Colorado, acquired for $30 million in May 2016, boosted full-year revenue.
Lee said Full House expects to receive the final permit from the Army Corps of Engineers this month to start construction on roads and ramps along the Ohio River to enable ferry service between Rising Star, in Rising Sun, Indiana, and northern Kentucky. Lee said the company hopes to refurbish the Rising Star pavilion during the second quarter and start ferry service by summer.
Also, Lee said, Full House applied for approvals to build a luxury hotel connected to Bronco Billy’s Casino in Cripple Creek, Colorado. Lee he expects the applications to be reviewed in April 2018; pending approval, construction would start in the second quarter. If all goes well, he said, the new hotel should open in 2020.
“Full House Resorts has reached a transitional moment,” he said. “Over the past three years, we have focused on improving operations, laid the groundwork for thoughtful future growth, and crafted a balance sheet that’s more flexible and less costly than it has been in the past.
“With that groundwork in place,” he added. “We look forward to the excitement and growth that we expect the next few years will bring.”
Full House shares rose 2 cents, or 0.65 percent, Thursday to close at $3.12 on the Nasdaq.
