Churchill Downs Incorporated Reports 2024 First Quarter Results

LOUISVILLE, Ky., April 24, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Churchill Downs Incorporated (Nasdaq: CHDN) (the "Company", "CDI", "we") today reported business results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.

Company Highlights

• First quarter results:
  • Record net revenue of $590.9 million, up 6% compared to the prior year quarter.
  • Net income of $80.4 million, down 48% compared to the prior year quarter.
  • Record Adjusted EBITDA of $242.5 million, up 9% compared to the prior year quarter.
• Delivered record first quarter revenue and Adjusted EBITDA for both our Live and Historical and TwinSpires segments
  • Live and Historical revenue up 15% and Adjusted EBITDA up 23% compared to the first quarter of 2023
  • TwinSpires revenue up 18% and Adjusted EBITDA up 35% compared to the first quarter of 2023
• We announced The Rose Gaming Resort which is scheduled to open in late September 2024 with 500 additional HRMs for a total of 1,650 HRMs and $460 million total capital investment.
• We announced development plans for Owensboro Racing & Gaming with a planned opening in the first quarter of 2025, including 600 HRMs, a retail sportsbook, simulcast wagering, and multiple food and beverage offerings.
• We ended the first quarter of 2024 with net bank leverage of 4.1x and maintained our commitment to returning capital to shareholders:
  • We repurchased $22.0 million of shares under our share repurchase program in the first quarter of 2024.
  • On January 2, 2024, we closed on the previously announced repurchase of 1,000,000 shares for $123.75 per share from an affiliate of The Duchossois Group Inc.
  • On January 5, 2024, we paid a $0.382 per share dividend to shareholders of record which represents the thirteenth consecutive year of an increased dividend per share.

The summaries below present revenue from external customers and intercompany revenue from each of our reportable segments.

Live and Historical Racing

Revenue for the first quarter of 2024 increased $33.1 million due to an $18.3 million increase attributable to growth at our Kentucky HRM properties, a $13.5 million increase attributable to growth at our Virginia properties and the opening of our Rosie's Emporia property in September 2023, and a $1.3 million increase at our other Live and Historical Racing properties.

Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2024 increased $18.7 million due to a $12.9 million increase attributable to growth at our Virginia properties, which includes $5.8 million of savings related to the Exacta Transaction, and an $8.5 million increase from our Kentucky HRM properties. These increases were offset by a $2.7 million decrease at Churchill Downs Racetrack driven by increased maintenance and promotional expenses in preparation for the 150th Kentucky Oaks and Derby. 

TwinSpires

Revenue for the first quarter of 2024 increased $17.8 million due to a $14.3 million increase attributable to the Exacta Transaction, a $2.3 million increase attributable to our retail and online sports betting business, and a $1.2 million increase in Horse Racing revenue.

Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2024 increased $10.2 million due to a $9.4 million increase attributable to the Exacta Transaction and a $1.4 million increase attributable to our retail and online sports betting business, partially offset by a $0.6 million decrease in Horse Racing primarily driven by lower retail volume.

Gaming

Revenue for the first quarter of 2024 decreased $8.4 million due to a $6.3 million decrease in Pennsylvania primarily due to our decision not to renew the management agreement at Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin ("Lady Luck") in June 2023 and a $2.1 million net decrease at our other gaming properties primarily due to inclement weather in January 2024.

Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2024 decreased $6.7 million primarily due to inclement weather in January 2024 at many of our gaming properties.

All Other

Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2024 decreased $2.6 million driven primarily by increased corporate compensation related expenses and other corporate administrative expenses.

United Tote Sale

On April 8, 2024, the Company closed on the sale of 49% of United Tote Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CDI, to NYRA Content Management Solutions, LLC, a subsidiary of the New York Racing Association, Inc.

Share Repurchase Program

The Company repurchased 184,821 shares of its common stock at a total cost of $22.0 million based on trade date under its share repurchase program in the first quarter of 2024. We had $192.9 million of repurchase authority remaining under this program on March 31, 2024.

The Duchossois Group Share Repurchase

On January 2, 2024, the Company closed on the agreement, dated December 18, 2023, with an affiliate of The Duchossois Group to repurchase 1,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock for $123.75 per share in a privately negotiated transaction for an aggregate purchase price of $123.75 million. This represented a 4.03% discount to the closing price on December 15, 2023 of $128.95. The repurchase of the shares was funded using available cash and borrowings under the senior secured credit facility and was made separately from and did not reduce the authorized amount under the Company’s common stock repurchase program.

The Company's first quarter 2024 net income was $80.4 million compared to $155.7 million in the prior year quarter.

The following impacted the comparability of the Company's first quarter 2024 net income to the prior year quarter:

• an $86.2 million after-tax gain on the sale of our property in Arlington Heights, Illinois ("Arlington") in the prior year quarter; and
• a $4.4 million after-tax net increase in adjustments related to transaction, pre-opening and other expenses.

This was partially offset by:

• a $5.2 million after-tax increase in other recoveries, net, related to non-recurring insurance claim recoveries.

Excluding the items above, first quarter 2024 net income increased $10.1 million primarily due to the following:

• a $14.7 million after-tax increase driven by the results of our operations,
• partially offset by a $4.6 million after-tax increase in interest expense associated with higher outstanding debt balances and higher interest rates.

Conference Call

A conference call regarding this news release is scheduled for Thursday, April 25, 2024 at 9 a.m. ET. Investors and other interested parties may listen to the teleconference by accessing the online, real-time webcast and broadcast of the call at http://ir.churchilldownsincorporated.com/events.cfm, or by registering in advance via teleconference here. Once registration is completed, participants will be provided with a dial-in number containing a personalized conference code to access the call. All participants are encouraged to dial-in 15 minutes prior to the start time. An online replay will be available by noon ET on Thursday, April 25, 2024. A copy of the Company’s news release announcing quarterly results and relevant financial and statistical information about the period will be accessible at www.churchilldownsincorporated.com. 

Use of Non-GAAP Measures

In addition to the results provided in accordance with GAAP, the Company also uses non-GAAP measures, including adjusted net income, adjusted diluted EPS, EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), and Adjusted EBITDA.

The Company uses non-GAAP measures as a key performance measure of the results of operations for purposes of evaluating performance internally. These measures facilitate comparison of operating performance between periods and help investors to better understand the operating results of the Company by excluding certain items that may not be indicative of the Company's core business or operating results. The Company believes the use of these measures enables management and investors to evaluate and compare, from period to period, the Company’s operating performance in a meaningful and consistent manner. The non-GAAP measures are a supplemental measure of our performance that is not required by, or presented in accordance with, GAAP, and should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income or diluted EPS (as determined in accordance with GAAP) as a measure of our operating results.

We use Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate segment performance, develop strategy, and allocate resources. We utilize the Adjusted EBITDA metric to provide a more accurate measure of our core operating results and enable management and investors to evaluate and compare from period to period our operating performance in a meaningful and consistent manner. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to operating income as an indicator of performance, as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity, or as an alternative to any other measure provided in accordance with GAAP. Our calculation of Adjusted EBITDA may be different from the calculation used by other companies and, therefore, comparability may be limited.

Adjusted net income and adjusted diluted EPS exclude discontinued operations net income or loss; net income or loss attributable to noncontrolling interest; changes in fair value for interest rate swaps related to Rivers Des Plaines; Rivers Des Plaines' legal reserves and transaction costs; transaction expense, which includes acquisition and disposition related charges, as well as legal, accounting, and other deal-related expense; pre-opening expense; and certain other gains, charges, recoveries, and expenses.

Adjusted EBITDA includes our portion of EBITDA from our equity investments.

Adjusted EBITDA excludes:

• Transaction expense, net which includes:
  • Acquisition, disposition, and property sale related charges;
  • Other transaction expense, including legal, accounting, and other deal-related expense;
• Stock-based compensation expense;
• Asset impairments;
• Gain on property sales;
• Legal reserves;
• Pre-opening expense; and
• Other charges, recoveries, and expenses.

As of December 31, 2021, our property in Arlington ceased racing and simulcast operations and the property was sold on February 15, 2023 to the Chicago Bears. Arlington's results and exit costs in 2023 are treated as an adjustment to EBITDA and are included in other expenses, net in the Reconciliation of Comprehensive Income to Adjusted EBITDA.

On June 26, 2023, the Company's management agreement for Lady Luck in Farmington, Pennsylvania expired and was not renewed. The Company completed the sale of substantially all its assets at Lady Luck for an immaterial amount.

For segment reporting, Adjusted EBITDA includes intercompany revenue and expense totals that are eliminated in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income. See the Reconciliation of Comprehensive Income to Adjusted EBITDA included herewith for additional information.

About Churchill Downs Incorporated

Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) has been creating extraordinary entertainment experiences for nearly 150 years, beginning with the Company’s most iconic and enduring asset, the Kentucky Derby. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, CDI has expanded through the development of live and historical racing entertainment venues, the growth of the TwinSpires horse racing online wagering business, and the operation and development of regional casino gaming properties. More information is available at http://www.churchilldownsincorporated.com. 

This news release contains various “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” “scheduled,” and similar words or similar expressions (or negative versions of such words or expressions), although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently.

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Important factors, that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include the following: the occurrence of extraordinary events, such as terrorist attacks, public health threats, civil unrest, and inclement weather, including as a result of climate change; the effect of economic conditions on our consumers' confidence and discretionary spending or our access to credit, including the impact of inflation; additional or increased taxes and fees; the impact of any pandemics, epidemics, or outbreaks of infectious diseases, including possible new variants of COVID-19, and related economic matters on our results of operations, financial conditions and prospects; lack of confidence in the integrity of our core businesses or any deterioration in our reputation; loss of key or highly skilled personnel, as well as general disruptions in the general labor market; the impact of significant competition, and the expectation that competition levels will increase; changes in consumer preferences, attendance, wagering, and sponsorships; risks associated with equity investments, strategic alliances and other third-party agreements; inability to respond to rapid technological changes in a timely manner; concentration and evolution of slot machine and historical racing machine (HRM) manufacturing and other technology conditions that could impose additional costs; failure to enter into or maintain agreements with industry constituents, including horsemen and other racetracks; inability to successfully focus on market access and retail operations for our TwinSpires sports betting business and effectively compete; online security risk, including cyber-security breaches, or loss or misuse of our stored information as a result of a breach including customers’ personal information could lead to government enforcement actions or other litigation; reliance on our technology services and catastrophic events and system failures disrupting our operations; inability to identify, complete, or fully realize the benefits of our proposed acquisitions, divestitures, development of new venues or the expansion of existing facilities on time, on budget, or as planned; difficulty in integrating recent or future acquisitions into our operations; cost overruns and other uncertainties associated with the development of new venues and the expansion of existing facilities; general risks related to real estate ownership and significant expenditures, including risks related to environmental liabilities; personal injury litigation related to injuries occurring at our racetracks; compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or other similar laws and regulations, or applicable anti-money laundering regulations; payment-related risks, such as risk associated with fraudulent credit card or debit card use; work stoppages and labor problems; risks related to pending or future legal proceedings and other actions; highly regulated operations and changes in the regulatory environment could adversely affect our business; restrictions in our debt facilities limiting our flexibility to operate our business; failure to comply with the financial ratios and other covenants in our debt facilities and other indebtedness; increases to interest rates (due to inflation or otherwise), disruption in the credit markets or changes to our credit ratings may adversely affect our business; increase in our insurance costs, or inability to obtain similar insurance coverage in the future, and any inability to recover under our insurance policies for damages sustained at our properties in the event of inclement weather and casualty events; and other factors described under the heading “Risk Factors” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Contact: Kaitlin Buzzetto
(502) 394-1091
Kaitlin.Buzzetto@kyderby.com