VICI revenue increases to $1.5bn in “transformational” 2021

$1.17bn of the revenue total came from sales and direct financing leases, paid by operators which VICI leases property to, such as Caesars Entertainment and Hard Rock. This figure was up from $1.01bn in 2020. Caesars – from which VICI was spun off – paid a combined $912.7m in lease fees across the year as the business’s largest customer.

Income from lease financing receivables and loans amounted to $283.2m, golf revenue came to $30.5m, while income from other sources amounted to $27.8m.

Operating expenses for the year totaled $75.6m, a decrease of 76.4% from the previous year. General and administrative costs were $33.1m, golf expenses came to $20.8m, while transaction and acquisition costs added a further $10.4m expense. Other expenses came to $27.8m.

Interest expenses were $392.4m, and losses from extinguished debt were $15.6m. Pre-tax profits for the year amounted to $1.03bn, up from $897.0m in 2020. After accounting for income tax of $2.9m, net profit for 2021 came to $1.02bn – a 13.7% increase from last year.

The year was notable for a record acquisition volume. During the year the company reached a deal to acquire MGM Resorts spinoff MGM Growth Properties for $17.20bn, in addition to agreeing to buy the property of Las Vegas Sands’ Las Vegas operations in a $6.25bn deal completed today (24 February).

In the fourth quarter of 2021, Vici reported a 2.7% revenue increase compared to the corresponding period in 2020, bringing in $383.2m.

Operating expenses increased significantly from 2020, rising 487.5% to $28.2m. With $70.4m of interest expenses and $759,000 of income tax, net profit for the quarter totaled $283.8m, down from $290.4m in Q4 2020.

Vici CEO Edward Pitoniak said: “The year 2021 was truly a transformational year for VICI as we announced record acquisition volume of over $21 billion and enhanced our funnel of investment opportunities through strategic partnerships with Blackstone Real Estate and Apollo Global Management portfolio companies.

“We successfully accessed the equity capital markets with two of the largest REIT follow-on equity offerings ever executed, prudently eliminating equity funding risk, and we have eliminated all outstanding secured debt, as we’ve worked toward closing our large-scale transactions.

“We believe this transformation in 2021 positions VICI for an improved cost of capital and the benefits of enhanced scale, significantly widening our investable universe and future growth prospects.”