Churchill Downs profit rises despite social casino decline

Churchill Downs Incorporated’s mainstay social gaming division posted larger profits but continued revenue declines that has analysts wondering if the division could be up for sale.

CDI recently released its Q1 earnings report, which showed revenue falling 3% to $279.5m, while adjusted earnings shot up more than one-fifth to $57.3m and net income nearly tripled to $7.3m.

CDI’s Big Fish Games social gaming operation reported revenue of $112m, around $10m less than Big Fish generated in the same period last year. While the social casino side suffered only a modest decline in bookings, the casual/mid-core free-to-play operations fell $11.2m to $43.8m, and premium game bookings slipped $5.1m to $20.7m as customers continued their shift away from PC to mobile games.

Social casino bookings were down $1m year-on-year to $46.4m, although this figure represented a $2m gain from Q4 2016. And despite the overall social gaming bookings decline, decreases in user acquisition costs (-$18.3m) and other expenses (-$3.2m) pushed the social gaming division’s adjusted earnings up more than double to $20.3m.