Caesars boosts online revenues but grows losses
Revenues from Caesars Interactive Entertainment and Playtika cross US$60m threshold, but overall group losses nearly double in Q1 results.
Caesars has seen net revenues from its ‘other’ operations, including social and online, more than treble year-on-year to US$64.7m, the operator has revealed in its results for the three months ended 31 March.
The rise helped group net revenues reach $2.27bn, a 4.3% increase on the corresponding period in 2011, although group losses nearly doubled year-on-year to $280.6m. Online and social revenues now count for 2.8% of its overall revenues.
Caesars also cut its losses within the ‘other’ bracket by 16.2% to $51.5m, described in a statement as “Due mainly to the results of the company’s growing online businesses, partially offset by increased corporate expenses.”
The operator’s egaming arm Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) acquired a 51% stake in social games developer Playtika last May before making it a fully-owned subsidiary by securing the remaining 49% in Q4 2011. However in an analyst call last night CEO Gary Loveman described the social investment as “A lot of effort, not a lot of results.”
Earlier this year CIE extended its agreements with Dragonfish and Barrière ahead of potential US regulation, while last month, at the start of the operator’s second quarter, Caesars received a $60.8m investment in CIE from Ohio-based casino group Rock Gaming.