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Wynn did well in Vegas

It’s a good time to be in the casino and hotel business, it seems, as Wynn Resorts Wynn Resorts posted solid underlying numbers in their second quarter earnings before the bell on Monday.  Interestingly, Wynn’s strength was derived from Las Vegas, which helped pushed margins even higher, as the Macau operations lagged.  Rising casino revenues in the City of Sin suggest Wynn doesn’t have much to lose from Zynga, with which the company was reportedly in talks with, bowing out of online poker and gambling.

Billionaire Steve Wynn is probably happy with his company’s financial performance, particularly in Vegas.  His hotel and casino operator saw adjusted property EBITDA rise 10.8% to $425.7 million in the second quarter; adjusted net income rose 10% to $152.9 million, which translates into an EPS of $1.51.

The company did miss earnings estimates (which called for an EPS of $1.55), but underlying numbers appear compelling.  EBITDA margins expanded to 32% from 30.6% a year ago, while casino revenues currently make up 76.4% of total sales, a 40 basis point expansion.  Wynn, it seems, doesn’t need online gambling to grow its gaming business at this juncture.

Net revenue rose 6% to $1.33 billion, in line with analysts’ expectations, and driven primarily by Las Vegas.  Wynn’s operations in the City of Sin saw revenue jump 16.2% to $401.4 million, while adjusted property EBITDA surged 65.6% to $135.7 million.  Management noted the improvement in Las Vegas over last year, while EBITDA margin expanded a dramatic 1,010 basis points to 33.8%.

Wynn did well all around, with casino revenues up 44.7% and non-casino sales gaining 4%.  Strength in their gaming business mitigated any speculation about Wynn’s reported talks with Zynga.  The company formerly run by Mark Pincus was said to be in negotiations with Steve Wynn regarding online gaming, but newly minted CEO Don Mattrick recently made it clear that is not the path forward for his company.  Wynn shouldn’t worry, as he can bank on real table games for the time being.

As has been the case with major casino operators, the lion’s share of earnings comes from Asia.  Wynn’s Macau operations saw net revenue tick up 2.6% to $930.9 million, while adjusted property EBITDA actually declined 4% to $290.1 million.  Amid a slowing Chinese economy, Wynn saw table game turnover decline 1.6%, helping push EBITDA margin down 210 basis points to 31.2%.

Weakness in China seems to make sense given the self-imposed economic slowdown the government is engaged in, but it clashes with the strength competitor Las Vegas Sands Las Vegas Sands saw in the second quarter.  Wynn is still betting on China going forward, noting its $4 billion project in Cotai is on track.  After having spent $113.3 million in the quarter, they noted the budget estimate remains achievable, with management expecting the project to be completed in the first half of 2016.

Cash and investments stood at $2.5 billion by the end of the quarter, while debt outstanding totaled $6 billion.  The board approved a $1.00 dividend.

Wynn remains one of the major casino operators out there.  In terms of its stock performance, though, the company has lagged the broader sector, along with Las Vegas Sands.  With the stock up about 10% this year, it is well behind the likes of MGM, Melco Crown, and Caesars Entertainment Caesars Entertainment, which have blown it out of the water.

After opening in the red on Monday, investors pushed the stock up to positive territory before a second lapse.  By 12:43 PM in New York, Wynn was trading down 0.1% to $130.82.

 

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