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Century Casinos (CNTY)Stock (Hospitality Industry, Media & Entertainment Industry, Resorts & Casinos Industry)
 Although a variety of factors had a negative impact on Century's 2007 revenue, Century's aggressive expansion policy helped it increase its revenue by 57.2% in 2007. This expansion included the opening of three new casinos in Edmonton, Central City, Colorado, and Newcastle, South Africa.[3] The negative factors that Century was able to overcome included struggles for the casino industry as a whole,[4] unfavorable exchange rates,[5] harsh gambling regulations,[6] and South African crime.[7] Century Casinos does not face very much competition in its main markets of operation; for example, it has a commanding 44% market share of the South African casino market.[8] However, Century does compete with well-known casino operators in other attractions, like Las Vegas' MGM MIRAGE and Las Vegas Sands for the business of tourists worldwide.[9] [edit] Business Overview[edit] Business Segments [edit] Gaming (85% of 2007 gross revenue)This segment is made up of all revenue obtained from customers' gambling activities within Century's casinos all around the world. These consist of money that its casinos earn from both electronic gaming machines (like slot machines and video poker) and traditional table games (such as roulette or black jack). Century Casinos' 2007 gaming revenue, which was recorded as $85.7 million, marked a 57.2% increase from the previous year.[3] This large increase was primarily due to the first full year of operation for Century's three newest casinos. The three newest casinos are Century Casino & Hotels in Central City, Colorado, Edmonton, and Newcastle, South Africa. These casinos were opened in July, November, and December of 2006, respectively, and accounted for a staggering $51.67 million in 2007 revenue (56.4% of total revenue). Century expects revenue from its Central City casino to increase even more in the near future as the casino matures, especially because of plans to add slot machines to the floor.[3] Much of the revenue in this segment comes from South Africa, which accounted for approximately $30 million in 2007 revenue. Century is the largest casino operator in the southern hemisphere, and enjoys a commanding 44% market share of the South African casino market.[8] In November 2006, however, a new casino opened in the Western Cape of South Africa, adding approximately 25% more slot machines to the market and declining Century's market share.[5] Nevertheless, although gaming revenue increased across the board, Century experienced slight problems with two of its casinos. Gaming revenue increased by only 2.5% in its Womacks casino in Colorado, due primarily to blizzards, and revenue at its Caledon, South Africa casino fell by 2% due to the declining exchange rate between the dollar and the South African Rand.[5] Lastly, combined gaming revenue from the Century Casino Millennium in Prague and from the cruise lines on which Century operate increased by 12.1% to $4.8 million in 2007. Century acquired a controlling interest in Century Casino Millennium in April 2006, and the increase in gaming revenue from this site was primarily due to a full year of operations at the casino. However, this was offset by decreased cruise ship revenue due to the operation of fewer cruise ships in 2007.[5] Nevertheless, cruise line executives expect business to pick back up in 2008, which of course greatly benefits Century's revenue.[10] [edit] Hotel/Food/Beverage (13% of 2007 gross revenue)This segment consists of revenue that Century Casinos obtains through hotel room bookings and food and beverage purchases at the hotel and restaurant portions of its properties around the world. Fiscal 2007 marked the first year that Century had hotels at all six of its international properties, with hotels opening at its three newest properties in Central City, Colorado, Edmonton, and Newcastle, South Africa in 2006 or 2007.[5] And although delays kept Century from opening its hotel in Edmonton until March of 2007 (the casino opened in November 2006), its revenue from the segment increased to $12.8 million in 2007, a 111.3% increase from the year before. This increase was primarily due to the opening of the three aforementioned new properties, which accounted for $6.3 million of revenue in 2007, a 250% increase from 2006.[3] [edit] Other (2% of 2007 gross revenue)This segment consists of all revenue that falls under neither the gaming segment nor the hotel, food, and beverage segment. In 2007, Century obtained 75.6% more revenue from this segment than in 2006 ($2.06 million compared to $1.17 million).[3] [edit] Business and Financial Analysis
In 2007, Century's revenue increased by 57.2% from the year before, primarily due to the fact that it was the first full year of operation for its casinos in Central City, Edmonton, and Newcastle. In addition to the overall increase, the three new casinos contributed to increases in revenue from all three of Century's segments. The addition of these new casinos also affected the company's distribution of revenue by geographic segment. Canada accounted for 21% of 2007 revenue, a staggering 14% more than in 2006.[11] Meanwhile, the new casino in Central City raised Century's U.S. revenue by 6%, up to 39% of 2007 revenue, while South African revenue fell from 43% of 2006 revenue to 33% of 2006 revenue.[3] The company's promotional allowances, which are deducted from the gross revenue to obtain the total net revenue, are defined as the retail value of accommodations, food and beverage, and other services Century provides its guests.[13] The addition of the three new casinos caused a 63% increase in promotional allowances from 2006 to 2007, from -$5.45 million to -$8.89 million.[3] The operating income disparity is also primarily explained by Century's three newest casinos. In 2006, Century's operating expenses went up with the opening of the three casinos in the second half of the year, and as such, it was unable to make enough revenue from these properties to overcome the increased operating expenses.[11] As a result, its operating income dipped from $5.95 million in 2005 to $3.25 million in 2006. In 2007, with a full year of operation from the three new casinos, Century was able to garner enough revenue to overcome the operating expenses, leading to a $10.46 million operating income.[9] [edit] Key Trends and Forces[edit] An emphasis on international expansion is helping Century Casinos grow and prosperCentury Casinos places significant stress on opening new casinos around the world, which obviously provide boosts to its revenue. Since 2005, Century has expanded by erecting casinos in Colorado, Edmonton, and South Africa.[14] For example, in 2007, the Century Casino & Hotel in Central City, Colorado obtained $20.37 million in revenue in its first full year of business, a 136% from its 2006 figures.[11] Further, as of September 2007, Century agreed to a $1.1million payment towards the construction of a paved road between the cities of Caledon and Hermanus, two vacation hotspots in South Africa. The company expects this construction to increase traffic to its Caledon Hotel, Spa, and Casino, and in turn expects the hotel's revenue to increase from the $18.14 million it made in 2007.[15][11] Furthermore, the casino industry is growing, and is expected to take in $80 billion in global revenue by 2012, a 129% increase from 1998 figures. Century Casinos' ability and willingness to expand through the opening of successful casinos in new markets around the world will let it take full example of an industry that is gaining worldwide acceptance every day.[16] Further, the trend has already benefited its business through the addition of new sources of revenue, and has enabled the company to overcome obstacles such as a struggling U.S. economy and international crime.[15] [edit] Economic cycles that decrease disposable income hurt the gambling industryPeople tend to participate in luxury activities such as gambling only when they feel they have enough disposable income. In 2008, domestic disposable income suffered from factors such as all-time highs in oil prices, and a struggling U.S. housing market. As of June 2008, the price of oil had reached $117.40 a barrel, a 76.8% increase from 2007.[17] These factors have contributed to shaky consumer confidence, which has sent the Applied Analysis Gaming Index, which includes casino operators and gaming machine manufacturers, down by 15.7 percent in January 2008.[4] Century's struggles with its Womacks Casino and Hotel in Cripple Creek, Colorado reflect this trend. In 2006, Womacks took in $16.26 million, a figure that grew only to $16.72 million in 2007.[18]  [edit] Century Casino's international revenue is affected by fluctuating exchange ratesAs a company that obtained over half of its 2007 revenue overseas, Century is vulnerable to changing exchange rates. When the value of the dollar depreciates, Century's international sales grow in dollar terms. From 2006-2008, the dollar depreciated relative to the Canadian Dollar and Czech Koruna.[20][21] However, the dollar actually appreciated relative to the South African Rand (ZAR),[19] an important currency to a company that obtained 33% of its 2007 revenue in South Africa. In fact, gaming revenue in Century's casino at Caledon, South Africa, decreased by 2% from 2006 to 2007 almost exclusively because of these changing rates.[5]The net effect was a $1.2 million dollar loss due to exchange rates in 2007, compared to a $1.7 million dollar gain in 2006.[22] With the dollar beginning to strengthen again relative to the Canadian Dollar and Koruna in the summer of 2008,[23] it expects to lose even more revenue to exchange rates in the coming years, an obviously harmful outcome. [edit] Changing gambling regulations in Colorado hurt Century's businessLike the rest of the casino industry, Century is subject to constantly changing government regulations on gambling. In January 2008, the Colorado state government enacted a new law prohibiting smoking in state casinos. This new piece of regulation had disastrous effects on the business of state casinos, as revenue at Colorado casinos fell by 10.7% during the beginning of 2008, the worst drop in the industry's history.[6] And because Century obtained nearly $37 million (40.5%) in 2007 revenue from its operations in Colorado,[11] the state's struggling casino industry expects to cause a decrease in Century's 2008 revenues from the state. [edit] Century's business is affected by the dangerous environments of the markets in which it operatesSouth Africa has the sixth highest murder rate in the world, with an estimated 19,202 murders amongst its 47 million inhabitants between April 2006 and March 2007. This exorbitant amount of crime has caused many experts to refer to South Africa as one of the most dangerous countries in the world.[24] In fact, a survey indicated that 18% of South Africans who sold their homes in Q2 2007 cited emigration as the reason for selling, up from 9% in Q4 of 2006. Another survey showed that up to 20% of South Africans were seriously considering emigration as of May 2008. A vast majority of these individuals cited the crime rate as a main contributing factor to their decision.[7] dangerous social environment of South Africa is harmful to Century because it deters potential tourists from visiting its South African casinos. And, with nearly a third of its total revenue coming from South Africa, the crime rate is potentially disastrous if Century is unable to continue to open casinos to increase its revenue and expand to new markets.[25] Furthermore, Century's business takes a big hit in the Colorado market in years when its weather is especially bad. For example, gaming revenue was fairly stagnant at its Womacks casino in Colorado, increasing by only 2.5% in 2007 due primarily to heavy blizzards from October 2006 to January 2007.[5] [edit] CompetitionCentury does not face a lot of direct competition in most of its markets of operation, such as South Africa and the Czech Republic. However, because the casino/hotel industry depends largely on tourists for its business, different casino operators around the world have to compete with one another for business from tourists by creating more attractive casinos in more attractive locations. For example, casinos in Las Vegas can compete with casinos in Colorado in that they are similar establishments in similarly attractive tourist environments. Century Casinos' competitors include:
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