Steve Wynn
Casino resort operator Wynn Resorts Ltd. today said its third quarter profit fell as net revenue remained steady.
The company earned $112 million, or $1.11 per share, compared to net income of $127.1 million, or $1.01 per share, in the third quarter of 2011.
The profit per share rose because there were fewer shares outstanding.
Net revenue was steady at $1.3 billion.
In Las Vegas, net revenue of $388 million was up 11.8 percent, thanks to strong results from the casino floors at Wynn and Encore.
Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn said the Las Vegas casino results improved as the casinos’ win percentage rebounded.
The company said that in Las Vegas, the table games win percentage of 21.9 percent was within the properties’ expected range of 21 percent to 24 percent and above the 18.3 percent in the same quarter in 2011.
Wynn Resorts said its high-end hotel business in Las Vegas held its own in the quarter, with the average daily room rate increasing 1.9 percent to $244.
Amid competition in the high-end segment from the likes of the Venetian, Palazzo, Bellagio and the Cosmopolitan, Wynn said hotel occupancy for its Strip properties of 85.7 percent was below the 88.3 percent achieved in the third quarter of 2011.
“It was a good performance in Las Vegas,” Steve Wynn said. “Our volumes in Las Vegas are satisfactory and improving ever so slightly.”
In Macau, net revenue for Wynn was $910.5 million, a 4.3 percent decline, as slot machine play and slot winnings for the company fell. Also in Macau, revenue per available hotel room fell, as did retail sales.
Steve Wynn said that amidst additional competition in Macau, “we’re staying more than competitive.”
Wynn Resorts, which has a cash stockpile of $2.7 billion, also said its board has chosen to distribute some of that money to shareholders in the form of an $8-per-share, one-time special dividend to be paid Nov. 20. The $8 includes the usual quarterly dividend of 50 cents. Wynn Resorts said it also plans next year to boost the quarterly dividend to $1 per share.
“Companies should make money for their shareholders” and maintain secure jobs for employees, Steve Wynn said.