Wynn Resorts earns $202.9 million in first quarter, tops expectations

Wynn Resorts Ltd. first-quarter profit rose modestly but enough to easily beat analysts’ expectations as the gaming company reported higher occupancy and improved revenues at its casinos in Las Vegas and Macau.

The company’s success has been driven by a boom in gambling in Macau, the world’s largest gambling hub located in China. Revenue from Wynn Macau operations rose 4.4 percent to $992.1 million in the second quarter.

The company, led by billionaire Steve Wynn, also reported revenue gains at its operations in Las Vegas. For the first-quarter, revenues from Wynn Las Vegas and Encore were up 6.6 percent to $386.6 million.

Overall, in the first quarter, Wynn Resorts reported net income of $203 million, or $2 per share, up from $140.6 million, or $1.23 per share, in the prior-year quarter.

Excluding special items, the company’s earnings were $2.03 per share.

Analysts surveyed by Yahoo Finance expected, on average, earnings of $1.55 per share.

Net revenue for the quarter rose 5 percent to $1.38 billion, in line with Wall Street expectations, from $1.31 billion in the same period last year.

In Las Vegas, casino revenues in the first quarter totaled $176.3 million, up 11.8 percent versus the same period last year. Room revenues were up 4.8 percent to $91.5 million, while the occupancy rate rose to 82.9 percent from 79.3 percent.

Revenue per available room at Wynn and Encore on the Strip was $214.

Wynn noted it is building a $3.5 billion to $4 billion resort in Macau’s Cotai district. The company broke ground in February and expects the resort to open during the first half of 2016. Wynn told analysts that mass transit links to his Cotai resort set up well to keep mass market traffic high.

The company breaks table games results in Macau into two distinct reporting categories: the VIP segment and the mass market segment.

Table games turnover, or the amount of money played, in the VIP segment was $28.4 billion for the first quarter, a 15.3 percent decline from $33.5 billion in the same period a year ago. Wynn said VIP activity still looks promising, as the company has lined up new junket operators.

Table games win in the mass market category was $243.1 million, a 13.6 percent increase over $214 million in the first quarter of 2012.

Overall table game win per unit per day was $25,550 compared with $24,337 in the same period last year.

Slot machine handle was $1.1 billion in the first quarter.

In Macau, hotel occupancy was 93.8 percent, up from 91.3 percent last year, while the average daily room rate declined 2.7 percent to $315.

Revenue per available room was $296, the company said.

Also on Thursday, Wynn said the company will pay a dividend of $1 per share on May 23 to shareholders of record as of May 9.

Wynn Resorts reported first-quarter earnings Thursday after the markets closed.

Shares of Wynn Resorts gained $3.41, or 2.50 percent, to close at $134.91 on the Nasdaq.

In after-hours trading, the gaming company’s shares lost 41 cents, or 0.30 percent, to $134.50.

Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at csieroty@reviewjournal
.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @sierotyfeatures on Twitter.