Richmond-based Great Canadian Gaming Corp. (TSX:GC) has not been immune to the recession's impact. Its first-quarter revenue fell 4% to $96.1 million from $100.3 million in the period ending March 31, 2009, compared with its 2008 first quarter.
The company said its revenue was down because of significantly lower slot machine play at its B.C. and Nova Scotia operations. Slot play fell the most at Richmond's River Rock Casino Resort (down 4%) and Coquitlam's Boulevard Casino (down 7%).
But quarterly revenue decline was partially offset by revenue growth at the company's Great American Casinos in Washington and additional gaming capacity at Hastings Racecourse.
Despite the revenue decline, earnings before income taxes and depreciation (EBITDA) rose 9% to $29.3 million, reflecting the impact of the company's recent expense reduction initiative, which shaved $6.6 million from its 2008 first-quarter expenses.
Net loss for the quarter was $2 million compared with a net profit of $5.4 million in the first quarter of 2008.
Great Canadian said it has eliminated 524 jobs as part of its cost-cutting initiatives. In addition to reviewing discretionary spending, marketing costs and head office expenses, the company also decided to reduce its number of directors by two, which lowered Great Canadian's board fees by 30%.
While the company said first-quarter results were not as bad as anticipated, Great Canadian said it will continue to improve efficiencies and reduce costs in anticipation of a weakening Canadian economy.
Great Canadian's share price range during the past week: between $3.73 and $4.39; 52-week high: $11.09; 52-week low: $2.28.