Penn National Gaming's net income rises during first quarter

Penn National Gaming Inc., the large casino and racetrack company, had net income of $11 million on revenue of $664.1 million during the first quarter of 2015, according to financial statements released by the company on Thursday.

The net income figure was more than double the net income figure of $4.5 million during last year’s first quarter, though both figures were a small fraction of the company’s revenue numbers for the quarter, representing a margin of 1.6 percent in this year’s first quarter and a margin of 0.7 percent last year.

Revenue was up 3.5 percent in the quarter when compared with revenue of $641.1 million in the first quarter of last year. Penn National opened two new Ohio properties in the third quarter of last year, with revenue from the two properties contributing to first-quarter results for the first time. The company also closed an Iowa property in the middle of 2014.

During the quarter, Penn National paid $108.8 million to a real-estate investment trust it formed at the end of 2013 for tax purposes. Last year during the first quarter, rental payments to the trust, Gaming and Leisure Properties, were $104.3 million.

Among its racetrack holdings, Penn National owns Penn National Race Course in Pennsylvania, Charles Town Races in West Virginia, Zia Park in New Mexico, and a 50 percent stake in Sam Houston Race Park in Texas.