Everi Holdings Pulls 2020 Financial Forecast, Cites ‘Limited Visibility’ on Coronavirus Casino Closures

Posted on: March 25, 2020, 08:39h. 

Last updated on: March 25, 2020, 11:16h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Everi Holdings (NYSE:EVRI) is joining a growing list of gaming companies in withdrawing 2020 financial guidance due to the impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on the industry.

Gaming machine maker Everi Holdings is the latest company in the industry to pull financial guidance, citing the coronavirus. (Image: Yahoo Finance)

The maker of gaming machines, payment solutions, and software also said it has drawn $35 million on a bank credit line to bring cash onto its balance sheet while unveiling a host cost-cutting measures, including dramatic reductions in executive pay, aimed at conserving capital.

Given the current operating environment and the uncertain timeline and impact related to the Company’s operations as a result of widespread casino closures across North America, Everi is also withdrawing the 2020 guidance it provided on March 2, 2020,” said the company in a statement.

On that date, Las Vegas-based Everi said it expected revenue to “grow at a high single-digit to low-double digit rate” this year, while forecasting adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $272 million to $282 million. The company also said at that time it expected to generate $95 million to $100 million of free cash flow in 2020.

Other Moves

As the COVID-19 outbreak grips the gaming industry, driving all casinos across the US to temporarily shutter and with some speculating those closures could last longer than expected, Everi is deploying other avenues for conserving cash.

For example, CEO Michael Rumbolz is taking no salary this year, and other high-ranking executives are electing to reduce cash compensation by as much as 70 percent. Those reductions, coupled with what the company called “targeted furloughs” of some staff, will trim future payroll expenses to less than $2 million per month.

“With essentially all revenue and the associated workload having been reduced to near-zero, and limited visibility as to when our customers may reopen for business, we have taken decisive actions appropriate for the current level of business and to prepare our Company to withstand a potentially prolonged period of minimal industry activity,” said Rumbolz.

The CEO said he expects those moves to be temporary, and the Everi is pursuing other avenues to access additional capital in an effort to bolster liquidity.

Shares Pounded

As is the case with a batch of other small-cap gaming names, Everi stock is being wrecked this month by the aforementioned gaming property closures. On March 3, the company had a market capitalization of $837 million. At this writing Wednesday, March 25, that figure is just $298 million.

Underscoring the punishment Everi stock is enduring, the name is up more than 65 percent over the past week, but remains down 68 percent year-to-date. The shares would need to more than triple from current levels to return to the 52-week high of $14.88.

In a note out March 19, Stifel analyst Brad Boyer said Everi has the cash to self-sustain for 13 to 16 weeks, and should a worst-case scenario arrive, the company can probably survive several weeks beyond that.