Caesars Entertainment’s first-quarter loss almost doubled from a year earlier after the company took an impairment charge stemming from a Mississippi project that was never built. Improved Las Vegas performance offset some of that loss.
Caesars’ net loss widened by 90% to $280.6 million, compared with a $147.5 million loss in last year's first quarter.
This year's first quarter included a $167.5 million impairment charge from a project in Biloxi, Miss., that was ultimately scuttled.
Revenue rose 4.3% to $2.27 billion in the quarter.
Caesars, whose annual revenue trails only Las Vegas Sands among publicly traded U.S.hotel-casino operators, benefited from more Las Vegas visitors.
The company reported that revenue at Las Vegas hotels rose 6.2%, while Las Vegas operating profit advanced 6.6%.
Last year, Las Vegas drew 38.9 million visitors, the second-highest total on record, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). Through February, 2012 tourism visits are up 3.6% from a year earlier to 6.22 million, while room rates have increased 8.1%, according to the LVCVA.
Last week, Las Vegas Sands said its first-quarter profit jumped 72% from a year earlier as revenue rose 31%. Earnings jumped in part because of a 91% surge in the company’s Las Vegas operations.
MGM Resorts International will release its first-quarter financial report on Thursday.
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