Wynn Resorts Ltd (WYNN) Thursday reported an increase in profit for the first quarter, on revenue growth as business in Macau and Las Vegas improved. Both earnings and revenues for the period trumped Wall Street estimates.
Wynn Resorts, the casino operator led by billionaire Steve Wynn, said revenues for the quarter grew mainly on a 4.4 percent growth in at Macau along with a 6.6 percent increase at Las Vegas business.
The Las Vegas-based casino company's revenues grew to $1.38 billion from $1.31 billion last year. Twenty analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had a consensus revenue estimate of $1.37 billion for the quarter.
At Macau, revenues grew 4.4 percent to $992.1 million. Macau has been a lucrative market for casino operators such as Wynn Resorts, rival Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. Macau is only place in China where gambling is allowed, and is the biggest gambling center in the world. Wynn is constructing an integrated resort on the Cotai land in order to take on the competition in Macau. The resort, which is expected to open in the first half of 2016, has a construction budget of $3.5 billion to $4.0 billion.
Las Vegas operations revenue increased 6.6 percent to $386.6 million from last year.
Wynn Resorts first-quarter profit rose to $203.4 million or $2.00 per share from $140.6 million or $1.23 per share last year
Adjusted earnings for the period improved to $2.03 per share from $1.33 per share last year. On average, twenty-four analysts estimated earnings of $1.55 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
The company approved a dividend for the quarter of $1 per share, payable May 23 to stockholders of record on May 9.
WYNN closed Thursday's trading at $134.91, up $3.41 or 2.59%, on a volume of 2.8 million shares. The stock dropped $0.41 or 0.30% in after hours.
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