Canterbury Park Holding Corporation – which owns the Canterbury Park Racetrack & Card Casino in Shakopee, Minnesota – has released its first quarter results for 2022 and is happy to report growth over the period, a fact emblematic of the return to form that land-based operators are experiencing after the slowdown of the pandemic.
The report covers the period ending March 31, 2022.
In that time, net revenue was up 47.8% to $13.6m on a year-over-year basis. This was matched by operating expenses of $11.2m, which increased 41% by $3.3m. Finally, adjusted EBITDA saw an increase of 149.4%
The year-over-year growth in both revenue and operating expenses is reflective of the first quarter in 2021, when land-based operators in the state were still beset by lockdowns and capacity limits.
With the opening of society, so too has come an increase in tax revenue: state income taxes in this quarter came to $606,000. This was up from the $252,000 seen the year before.
Breaking down the return to form, group President and CEO Randy Simpson had the following comments: “The strong first quarter financial performance was driven by ongoing momentum in our Card Casino operations, where we continue to benefit from higher levels of visitation and spend per visit, with trip from rated players rising 32%.”
Simpson also commented on the other draws to the destination: “In addition, our events and food and beverage businesses benefitted from a return to a more normalized events calendar, including the return of popular events such as ISOC snowmobile racing, Extreme Horse Skijor races, the M8 Pool Tournament, the Minnesota Deer and Turkey Classic and a first-time event, the Lake and Cabin Show.”
