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Record Quarter for Harrah's, MGM
Both MGM Mirage and Harrah's Entertainment announced
record first-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street estimates by a
healthy margin on Wednesday morning, telling investors that results
would be strong for the rest of 2004, but declining to issue new
guidance.
MGM Mirage announced first-quarter net income of $105.8 million, or
74 cents a share, more than double the $51 million, or 34 cents a share,
the casino operator had in the year-ago quarter. On an adjusted earnings
basis, which excludes all items, MGM Mirage earned a record 70 cents a
share, nearly double the 38 cents a share it had a year ago and well
above the 46-cent analyst estimate.
"Our first quarter was satisfying in many regards and we achieved
several milestones, including record EPS and EBITDA. This was our most
profitable quarter ever, with the highest EBITDA margin since the
formation of MGM MIRAGE four years ago," said Terry Lanni, chairman and
CEO. "Bellagio and MGM Grand, for example, each had their most
profitable quarter ever. We expect to build momentum throughout 2004."
Thanks in part to the strong Las Vegas and Atlantic City results, MGM
Mirage's first-quarter revenue came in at $1.07 billion, up 12% from the
year-ago $951 million and higher than the $1.02 billion expected by Wall
Street. Gaming revenue rose 13% year-over-year while non-gaming revenue
rose 11%.
The amount of revenue generated per available room, a key industry
metric called revpar, was especially strong, coming in at $124, up 9%
from last year. Las Vegas revpar was even stronger, up 11%, as business
travelers and convention-goers flock to Sin City.
But while current results set records, MGM Mirage declined to give
specific guidance for the rest of the year, unlike Station Casinos,
which rose 3.3% on Tuesday after raising earnings expectations for the
year.
MGM did tell investors a recent power outage at the Bellagio would
decrease second-quarter earnings by a penny a share, but said it was
comfortable with current estimates and said revpar gains would continue
-- a good sign for business for the rest of 2004.
Read the
entire article at:
TheStreet.com
2004 Online Casino News Archive
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