I would certainly say that experience takes precedence over certifications, but sometimes people with the proper experience aren't always available. Sometimes you want to give someone a shot to move up the ladder or they're leaving a job because they haven't gotten the responsibility they want. In those cases, certifications (good, well run programs) can certainly tell you a lot, that they have the knowledge to move into a new position, to take more technical responsibility. Sure, you make sure someone more experienced is supervising them, but you can't have people with 10+ years experience at every role in your company.
As was mentioned above, some certification programs certainly do give worthwhile perks, like access to all updates, earlier updates, trial licenses, conference invites, etc. All those things have value as well.
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