Isle of Capris Casinos, Inc. (NASD: ISLE), a gaming and entertainment company that operates 18 casino properties, recently reported its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2009 ended July 27, 2008. The company’s first quarter net revenues increased by $3.8 million, a 1.4 percent year-over-year gain, which improved the quarterly net loss to $3.6 million from $7.1 million during the first quarter of fiscal 2008. Earnings per share improved from a loss of $0.23 per share to a loss of $0.12 per share.

The chief financial officer of Isle of Capris Casinos, Dale R. Black, recently commented on the company’s quarterly results, “Impacting EPS was a $6 million charge related to our decision to get out of a potential development project in Portland. This had the impact of almost $0.12 per share on EPS. Without the impact of that, we would have been slightly profitable and break-even on an EPS basis.” The company’s capital expenditures for the three months ended July 27, 2008 totaled $8.2 million, which included approximately $5.0 of maintenance capital expenditures.

Over this past Labor Day weekend, the company was forced to close its two properties in Biloxi and Natchez, Mississippi, and its property in Lake Charles, Louisiana, due to Hurricane Gustav. Although there was some flooding and minor damage to some facilities, management is working to reopen these properties as quickly as possible, pending regulatory approval. The damage was not as severe as anticipated and should not have a significant impact on operations moving forward.

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