Century Casinos Call Turns Testy as Investors Decry Stock Slide

Posted on: March 13, 2025, 04:50h. 

Last updated on: March 13, 2025, 04:50h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.
  • Pair of shareholders infiltrated conference call, criticizing executives
  • One investor demands CEO change and a focus on the US

Century Casinos’ (NASDAQ: CNTY) fourth-quarter earnings conference call turned acrimonious when a pair of shareholders hopped on to bash management while pointing out the stock’s now lengthy slide.

Century Casinos
A Century Casinos property in Colorado. Investors are voicing displeasure about the stock’s slide. (Image: Seeking Alpha)

They’re not wrong. Shares of the regional casino operator tumbled 21.40% today on volume that was more than 11x the daily average after the company reported results for the October through December period that missed consensus forecasts and warned that there is softness among lower-tier consumers. That drew derision from investors.

I’ve seen the stock go down. Very rarely does it go up,” said a shareholder who identified himself as Mike. “It’s disappointment after disappointment, quarter after quarter. There’s no confidence that this company can turn it around.”

The stock’s recent slide has been particularly breathtaking. After more than doubling from August through December, the shares have given back all of those gains and then some. With today’s close at $1.91, Century stock is residing at its lowest levels since March 2020 when its gaming venues were shuttered due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Century Investor Wants Asset Sales

Mike’s dissatisfaction wasn’t contained exclusively to the stock price, though his other points of contention on the call are arguably related to the performance.

He said management should proceed with selling its Canadian and Polish casinos while considering hiring a new chief executive officer that has experience in the US gaming market. The company has frequently said it’s open to selling its two-thirds stake in Casinos Poland, but Co-CEO Peter Hoetzinger said there complexities associated with such a transaction because of the Russia/Ukraine war and due to the fact that Century doesn’t fully own the Poland entity.

“CNTY continues to engage in discussions with potential acquirers, though somewhat complicated by Poland Airports S.A. 33.3% ownership,” wrote Stifel analyst Jeffray Stantial in a note out earlier today. “We continue to see it likely CNTY monetizes the assets during the current window in between licensing cycles, though translating to limited balance sheet impact given the low-multiple nature of the Poland assets (likely <5x) and only 66.6% pro-rata ownership. Strategically, however, focusing on core North American markets should help simplify the thesis for U.S. investors and allow for greater focus on U.S. operations.”

Century previously monetized some of its Canadian property holdings and executives reiterated that divestments of its international assets remain under review.

Another Investor Calls for Insider Buying

Another dissatisfied investor who identified himself as J.T. pushed Century management to execute more insider buying of the stock to signal confidence to other shareholders.

Co-CEO Erwin Haitzmann didn’t run away from the idea, but pointed out that “we’re pretty much restricted by the insider laws and rules.” That could be an accurate response because Century insiders already own 15% of the stock.

In terms of capital allocation, Hoetzinger said the current states of consumer sentiment and the broader economy present forecasting challenges, implying it’s not yet clear if Century will emphasize debt reduction or share repurchases over the course of this year.