Penn National properties see momentum and money

April 23, 2015 at 7:19p.m.

AUSTINTOWN

Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course in Austintown and the three other Penn National Gaming Inc. properties in Ohio are all seeing momentum, the company’s chief operating officer said Thursday.

“We continue to exceed [our] projections at those properties,” said Jay Snowden, COO of Penn National.

On Thursday, the company reported first-quarter 2015 earnings of $664.1 million compared with $641.1 million in the first quarter 2014.

The net revenue for the first quarter, however, fell short of the company’s first-quarter goal of $670.6 million.

Penn National said its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came in at $75.4 million. This is compared with $73.4 in the first quarter 2014 and the company’s projected first quarter 2015 goal of $74.6 million.

Earnings per share went from $0.05 in the first quarter 2014 to $0.12 in the first quarter of 2015.

“It was a relatively uneventful quarter,” Snowden said during a conference call Thursday. “It was a tale of two halves.”

The second half of the first quarter took a hit from the frigid temperatures. At the same time, consumer confidence impacted visitation to the company’s properties.

“April results, with the weather behind us, have been very encouraging throughout the company,” Snowden said.

Penn National President and Chief Executive Officer Timothy J. Wilmott said the first quarter results were in line with what was expected.