Caesars Entertainment's fourth-quarter loss doubled from a year earlier on asset write-downs and the effects of Superstorm Sandy on its Atlantic City properties.
The company, which has five properties in the Atlantic City area, had its fourth-quarter revenue cut by as much as $45 million because of Sandy, which made landfall in late October and closed Caesars' resorts for five days. Caesars, whose Atlantic City regional revenue was down 19% from a year earlier, also took a $450 million impairment charge for one of its Atlantic City-area properties.
Additionally, Caesars' Las Vegas revenue fell 3.2% from a year earlier despite a record number of visitors to that city last year. Caesars, which changed its name from Harrah's Entertainment in late 2010, attributed that decline to the construction work it's doing for its Project Linq retail and entertainment district, which is slated to open its first phase across the street from Caesars Palace later this year.
Such declines more than offset the effects of Caesars cutting its fourth-quarter interest expense by $147 million from a year earlier.
As a result, the company's loss widened to $469.7 million, from a $220.6 million loss a year earlier. Revenue fell 4.3%, to $2.02 billion.
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