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Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) shared its financial performance for the third quarter, which ended on Sept. 30, 2023. The results indicated notable improvements compared to the third quarter of 2022, with total revenue reaching $572.5 million.
Churchill Downs’s third-quarter highlights
- Churchill Downs achieved a 49% year-over-year increase in net revenue, with Q3 2023’s total at $572.5 million, surpassing the previous year’s $383.1 million.
- The net income for the quarter reached $61.0 million, demonstrating a 7% growth from Q3 2022’s $57.0 million.
- Adjusted EBITDA stood at $218.2 million, marking a substantial 34% increase over the previous year’s $163.2 million.
Q3 net income review
The company recorded a $4.9 million increase in its $61.0 million net income. The report shows that this was influenced by an after-tax net increase of $34.5 million, which was only made possible through the company’s new property acquisition.
Secondly, the net income was influenced by the slight offset of the $22.7 million after-tax increase in interest expense, which had a much higher outstanding debt balance accompanied by higher interest rates and a $6.9 million after-tax decrease in the equity income from our unconsolidated affiliates.
Live and historical horse racing and gaming segments record
The company’s Live and Historical Racing segment achieved revenue of $225.5 million, marking a substantial 120% increase compared to $102.4 million in 2022. This remarkable $89.0 million surge in revenue can be attributed to the following factors:
- The acquisition of the Virginia property through the P2E transaction
- CDI’s acquisition of Ellis Park and Chasers Transaction contributed an additional $14.7 million to the increase.
- The opening of Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky led to an $8.8 million upturn.
- The Derby City Gaming property in Louisville, which contributed $7.4 million to the overall growth,
- The Oak Grove property in Southwestern Kentucky contributed an increase of $4.3 million.
However, the revenue growth was slightly balanced by a $1.1 million reduction at Churchill Downs Racetrack, resulting from the choice to relocate July race days from the Churchill Downs Racetrack Spring Meet to Ellis Park.
The TwinSpires property racked up $112.4 in revenue, a $5.5 million increase from last year’s third-quarter revenue of $107.4 million. Its adjusted EBITDA was $33.9 million, resulting in a $2.8 million increase from Q3 2022, which was $31.1 million.
The TwinSpires revenue increase is influenced by:
- Exacta Transaction
- Horse racing revenue from the B2B expansion initiative garnered a $0.9 million increase.
The revenue growth is, however, slightly offset by a decrease of $1.4 million in sports and casino earnings.
Gaming revenue saw a 32% increase, reaching $244.9 million compared to last year’s $185.9 million. The adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2023 is $122.3 million.
Although it was slightly higher in CDI’s Q2 2023 at $106.8 million.
Share repurchase program and dividend
CDI’s Q3 2023 report states the company bought back $37.3 million of its common stock. After this buyback, the company still had approximately $232.9 million remaining in its repurchase program as of Sept. 30.
For its dividends, the board of directors, on Oct. 24, 2023, granted a yearly cash dividend on their common stock of $0.382 per outstanding share. This is a 7% increase from last year on a split-adjusted basis.
This is the thirteenth consecutive year the company has increased its dividend per share.
CDI will distribute the dividend to shareholders on Dec. 1, 2023, and pay out on Jan. 5, 2024. The cash dividend amount for each shareholder will be rounded to the nearest whole cent.
