Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) today announced it is taking additional measures to mitigate the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the closure of all of the Company’s properties in mid-March.
Due to the continued closure of all revenue-generating operations, Boyd Gaming will place most of its team members on unpaid furlough effective Saturday, April 11. For furloughed team members enrolled in the Company’s health care plans, Boyd Gaming will pay all insurance premiums through June 30 or their return to work, whichever is sooner. A limited number of essential team members will remain on payroll during the closure period.
“This is by far the most difficult decision we have ever made,” said Keith Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boyd Gaming. “We care deeply about the well-being of our team members, which is why we maintained full pay and benefits through April 10. Implementing furloughs was a last resort for us, but a necessary step to protect our Company, especially given the current lack of visibility regarding property re-openings.”
The Company also announced that its executive leadership team will be taking significant salary reductions, while the Company’s Board of Directors has agreed to suspend the Board’s compensation. Additionally, all non-furloughed members of the Company’s corporate and property management teams will take a salary cut.
Additional cost-containment measures taken by the Company include:
- Following a thorough review of the Company’s expenses, all non-essential spending has been postponed indefinitely.
- All capital projects have been suspended and will be re-evaluated by the Board of Directors.
- As previously announced, the Company’s cash dividend program has also been suspended.
“As a result of these difficult but necessary actions, we are confident Boyd Gaming will have sufficient liquidity and resources to sustain itself until we are able to re-open for business,” Smith said. “We will continue to carefully review our operations and expenditures during the closure period and make additional adjustments as necessary.”
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding our expectations, hopes or intentions regarding the future. These forward looking statements can often be identified by their use of words such as “will”, “might”, “predict”, “continue”, “forecast”, “expect”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “outlook”, “could”, “would”, “target”, “project”, “intend”, “plan”, “seek”, “estimate”, “pursue”, “should”, “may” and “assume”, or the negative thereof, as well as variations of such words and similar expressions referring to the future, and may include (without limitation) statements regarding having sufficient liquidity and resources to sustain the Company until it is able to reopen for business, the ability to reopen some or any of its properties, the impact of COVID-19 and the length of time the Company’s properties will be required to remain closed. Forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those discussed in any such statement. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include (without limitation) the ongoing uncertainty about COVID-19, its duration and impact, the closure and length of closure of our properties, negative perceptions of visiting properties that have large groups of people, and the cost to comply with any mandated health requirements associated with the virus. Additional factors are discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s current and periodic reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements in this document are made based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.