Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (MCRI) has reported a 26.29 percent rise in profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016. The company has earned $6.47 million, or $0.36 a share in the quarter, compared with $5.12 million, or $0.29 a share for the same period last year.

Revenue during the quarter grew 7.98 percent to $55.60 million from $51.48 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter expanded 194 basis points over the previous year period to 53.07 percent. Total expenses were 81.67 percent of quarterly revenues, down from 84.49 percent for the same period last year. This has led to an improvement of 282 basis points in operating margin to 18.33 percent.

Operating income for the quarter was $10.19 million, compared with $7.99 million in the previous year period.

However, the adjusted EBITDA for the quarter stood at $14.60 million compared with $12.40 million in the prior year period. At the same time, adjusted EBITDA margin improved 218 basis points in the quarter to 26.26 percent from 24.08 percent in the last year period.

John Farahi, Co-chairman and chief executive officer of Monarch, commented: "I am very pleased with our record fourth quarter financial results, which marks the conclusion of another active and successful year of organic growth for the Company. Strong fourth quarter results in Reno and Black Hawk led to an 8% increase in quarterly net revenue, driving a 17.8% rise in fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA. Through the determined and dedicated work of our operating teams, we are consistently elevating our guest service and amenities while growing market share. At the same time, we continue to focus on operational efficiency, which resulted in higher margins on revenue and contributed to our ninth consecutive quarter of double digit net income growth."