Wynn Profit Slides on Macau Weakness

Wynn Resorts Ltd. said Thursday its third-quarter earnings dropped 61% as revenue from its Macau operations sunk 38%, continuing the woes of casino operators in the Chinese territory.

Both the top and bottom line fell short of Wall Street's expectations. Shares, which have lost half their value so far this year, declined 8.8% to $67.27 after hours.

Despite gambling revenue in Macau being on a downward spiral for more than a year, Wynn Chief Executive Stephen Alan Wynn has remained bullish on China's semiautonomous region.

Las Vegas-based Wynn said Thursday revenue from its Macau operations in the latest period fell 38% to $585.1 million. Average daily room rates there shrunk 3.1% to $317, while occupancy fell to 95.9% from 98.5% a year earlier. Revenue per available room, a closely watched industry metric, fell 5.6% to $304.

Meanwhile, overall revenue from its Las Vegas operations fell 3.9% to $411.2 million. But noncasino revenue rose 1.9% from the year-before period to $303.6 million, the company said. That figure technically includes free hotel stays and other offerings to customers. Room revenue in Las Vegas edged up 0.2% as average daily rates rose 3% to $275 and revenue per available room improved 2.1% to $243. Occupancy was down from the prior-year period at 88.3%.

Overall, Wynn reported a profit of $73.8 million, or 73 cents a share, down from $191.4 million, or $1.88, a year earlier. Excluding items such as pre-opening costs, earnings fell to 86 cents from $1.95.

Net revenue, which excludes promotional allowances, dropped 30% to $996.3 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast earnings of 88 cents on $1.03 billion in revenue.

Write to Anne Steele at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 15, 2015 18:05 ET (22:05 GMT)

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