Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) may have set a high bar for Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) and its earnings report today, but cost cuts helped the company to beat its estimates. Las Vegas Sands reported GAAP net income of $62.4 million, but the non-GAAP operating income was $0.03 EPS and revenue was $1.14 billion. Thomson Reuters had estimates pegged at -$0.01 EPS and $1.17 billion in revenues. That is another instance of cost savings helping the bottom-line more than the top-line seeing improvements.
In the Vegas set it seems that cost savings helped to overcome weak table revenues. What is interesting is that the company said it had a record quarter regarding future group room night bookings. It also noted that it has more groups already on the books for 2010 than it expects to realize for all of 2009.
The company’s annualized cost savings will exceed $500 million across the company and it continues to look for opportunities on the cost front. That was 90% realized for the year as of September 30. Las Vegas Sands’ unrestricted cash balance at the end of the quarter was $3.09 billion and total debt outstanding was $11.76 billion.
Shares closed up 12% at $14.76 today, and shares are trading around $14.40 shortly after the report in the after-hours session.
JON C. OGG
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