Monarch boosts revenue, profits

The parent company of Atlantis Casino Resort Spa boosted its revenues and trimmed its costs during the first quarter, bringing home a profit of $2.44 million.

A year earlier, Monarch Casino and Resort Inc. earned $922,160.

Revenues were up across the board at the Reno property. Casino revenues of $24.2 million in the first quarter were up 5.9 percent over the same period a year ago. Food and beverage revenues of $9.98 million were up 4.1 percent, and hotel revenues of $5.2 million were 7.5 percent higher than a year ago.

At the same time, the company squeezed $510,000 out of its operating expenses during the quarter even though it boosted its investment in marketing.

John Farahi, chief executive officer and co-chairman of Monarch, praised the company's employees for their work in boosting revenues in the face of difficult economic headwinds.

The company boosted its bottom line, too, by paying down its debt by $7.5 million during the quarter.

As of March 31, its debts stood at $41 million, and the reduction trimmed its interest costs by $92,000 compared with the first quarter of 2009.

The company's earnings of 15 cents a share handily outpaced the 4 cents that had been predicted by a consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

The company's stock was trading a bit over $10 a share last week, up from the 52-week low of $6.21 a share that it reached in November.