Caesars

Vici Properties remains in deep discussion with all tenants regarding COVID-19 action response plans, as the real estate investment trust maintains that no update to 2020 guidance will be provided at the current time.

With no lease modifications or other concessions having yet been agreed alongside its partners, Vici does assert that should the current environment persist then it may ultimately support tenants during the short term “in ways that we believe will benefit the company over the long term”.

As state governments and regulatory authorities maintain mandated closures for an, as yet, unspecified time frame, Vici also provided an update on the Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment merger.

With all equity and debt funding necessary to close its own part of the transaction secured, Eldorado is said to be continuing to pursue the regulatory approvals necessary to close the agreement.

Providing the updates its 2020 first quarter financial report, Vici saw revenue during the period reach $255m which represents a 19.2 per cent increase from the previous year’s $214m.

Operating income dropped 56.4 per cent from $201.8m to $88m, net loss reached $22m from an income of $152.9m and adjusted EBITDA rose 22.9 per cent to $244.7m (2019: $199m).

Edward Pitoniak, CEO of Vici, explained: “In the first quarter of 2020, we continued to build a best-in-class REIT by building a constantly-improving balance sheet. We accessed the unsecured debt markets by issuing $2.5bn of senior unsecured notes at a blended and weighted average interest rate of 3.8 per cent and we used $500m of those proceeds to redeem the final portion of our emergence debt: our 8 per cent second lien notes. 

“Our debt raising activities in February 2020 and November 2019 significantly extended and smoothed out our debt maturity ladder, with no maturities until 2024. We accessed the equity capital markets by selling 7.5 million shares under our ATM program, yielding us $200m of net cash proceeds. 

“With the outbreak of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we retain a strong liquidity position with over $300m of unrestricted cash on our balance sheet and full access to our undrawn $1bn revolver. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant uncertainty for our tenants and we are communicating and working closely with our tenants to monitor and manage our responses to various scenarios for reopening and restoration of business. 

“As we manage our portfolio and relationships through the current crisis, we are intensely focused on preserving long-term stockholder value through our independence, proven access to capital and our partnership approach.”