Las Vegas esports arena operator reports 4Q losses

The company that operates the esports arena at Luxor reported fourth-quarter and full-year losses for 2021 after being delayed in its efforts to sell the company.

Irvine, California-based Allied Esports Entertainment Inc. reported a net loss of $6.3 million, 10 cents a share, on revenue of $1.9 million for the quarter that ended Dec. 31. For the same period a year earlier, the company showed a loss of $18.9 million, 54 cents a share, on revenue of $935,719.

For the full year, Allied reported a net loss of $15.8 million, 39 cents a share, on revenue of $5 million in 2021, compared with a net loss of $31.7 million, $1.60 a share, on revenue of $3.2 million in 2020.

Allied had received permission from the Nasdaq exchange for a delayed filing after the company requested additional time as it performed an audit in advance of selling the company.

During an earnings conference call last week, Chief Financial Officer Roy Anderson said the company’s revenue rebounded as a result of COVID-19 restrictions being lifted from the previous year.

“We are proud of the progress we’ve made throughout the year through our esports business,” Anderson said. “We saw the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic subside and return to a more normalized operating environment, which led to a strong return to growth in our in-person pillar. We also made significant strides in our multiplatform content pillar by growing our library of esports content and securing distribution agreements with several digital streaming platforms.”

The company reported that Allied Esports produced 110 events during the fourth quarter, including 29 proprietary events and 81 third-party online and in-person productions.

The company said it continued to produce strong results in the quarter in both its in-arena and online proprietary offerings, with more than 17,000 total players competing in both online and in-arena events, a company record.

Third-party events were up 14 percent quarter over quarter, driven by a 24 percent increase in third-party events and productions booked at the Luxor’s HyperX Arena Las Vegas.

AE Studios, the company’s new original content, storytelling and production services arm, streamed 10 episodes of CelebriTee Showdown for Twitch on its TwitchSports channel.

After the end of the fourth quarter, AE Studios debuted Elevated Presented by Progressive Insurance, an all-new original content series designed to help up-and-coming Twitch streamers break through the clutter, get discovered and grow their audiences. The initial four-episode run in March delivered 10.4 million views.

Esports is a growing gaming sector with a worldwide audience that views, and in some jurisdictions, wagers on the outcome of the play of video games. Esports wagering is permitted by event in Nevada with the consent of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Allied sold the World Poker Tour — a rival to the World Series of Poker — to Element Partners LLC for $105 million. World Poker Tour plans a $5,000 buy-in no limit hold ‘em tournament at The Venetian from July 12-17 while the World Series of Poker is underway.

The company’s first-quarter earnings are expected to be announced later this week. Nasdaq has indicated Allied has until June 20 to file a report for the financial period ending March 31 in order to remain in compliance with the listing service.

Allied shares were up just under $0.40, 2.7 percent, to nearly $1.53 a share Tuesday in trading about half the normal average volume.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.