Wynn Results Inline, Declares $8 Cash Dividend

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) reported third-quarter 2012 results after markets closed today. For the quarter, the resort and casino owner posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.48 on revenues of $1.3 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $1.05 on revenues of $1.3 billion. Third-quarter results compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $1.34 and $1.31 billion in revenues.

On a GAAP basis, Wynn reported EPS of $1.11, compared with $1.01 in the same period a year ago.

Wynn declared a cash dividend of $8 a share today, which includes the usual $0.50 a share quarterly dividend. The special dividend will be payable on November 20th to shareholders of record on November 7th. The stock will begin to trade ex-dividend on November 5th.

The company’s Macau operations posted net revenues of $910.5 million in the quarter, down 4.3% from the same period a year ago. Turnover in the company’s VIP table games segment was down 12.1% from a year ago, while the mass market table games segment rose 8.3% year-over-year. Slot machine handle fell 13.2% in Macau.

In Las Vegas, net revenues totaled $388 million, up 11.8% from the same period a year ago. Casino revenues rose to $155.6 million, up 22.6% year-over-year, slot machine handle rose 7.4%, and non-casino revenues rose 5.3% year-over-year.

The drop in Macau revenues is the result of visa restrictions imposed by the Chinese government and a government-mandated lowered spending limit on credit cards. It hit Macau’s VIP segment especially hard: table games turnover fell 12.1% year-over-year from $31.4 billion in 2011 to $27.6 billion this year.

But that cash dividend makes up for a lot of problems.

Wynn’s shares are up nearly 3% in after-hours trading, at $112.29, in a 52-week range of $90.11 to $142.20. The consensus target price for the shares was around $132.20 before today’s report.

Paul Ausick