This revenue total marked a record for Churchill Downs for full-year results. Its net income for 2022 of $439.4m also represented a full-year record and was up a significant 76%.
Its adjusted EBITDA of $763.6m for 2022 was also a record high and up 22% year-on-year.
Churchill Downs attributes, in part, its record financial year to its biggest Kentucky Derby to date. The 148th iteration of the flagship US horseracing event in May last year generated greater adjusted EBITDA than any prior derby.
2022 also saw Churchill Downs complete a string of acquisitions, including all assets of Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, Chasers Poker Room in Salem, New Hampshire and Ellis Park Racing & Gaming. These acquisitions helped drive the company’s record revenue amounts.
Churchill Downs’ full-year results were released alongside those for Q4, which detailed a revenue increase of a sizeable $87m from the prior-year period. This increase was due to revenues attributable to Virginia properties – locations the company acquired as part of its Peninsula Pacific Entertainment transaction.
Furthermore, the company’s adjusted EBITDA for Q4 2022 increased by $13.4m. Churchill Downs says this further rise is due to other properties acquired as part of its ownership of Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, in New York and Iowa.
Q4 2022 also saw Churchill Downs increase its equity investments by $1.2m. And, although it saw a decrease in revenue from seven properties across five states, it notes how growth at Ocean Downs in Maryland offset these other performance dips.
