Station Casinos Beats

The casino operator swings to a profit and raises guidance.

Author:: Ross Snel
Publish date:: Apr 27, 2005 9:04 AM EDT

Station Casinos

reversed its fortunes in the first quarter, recording a sizable profit and beating Wall Street estimates. The company also raised guidance.

The casino operator, whose properties appeal primarily to Las Vegas residents, reported net income of $40.6 million, or 59 cents a share, vs. a year-earlier loss of $29.8 million, or 48 cents a share. Excluding certain items, adjusted EPS increased to 70 cents from 51 cents and beat the 67-cent average Wall Street estimate from Thomson First Call.

Shares fell 30 cents, or 0.4%, to $67.95 in early trading Wednesday after rallying $2.70, or 4.1%, Tuesday.

Revenue rose 14% to $273.5 million from $239.0 million last year and was just shy of the $274 million analyst consensus.

Looking ahead, Station raised second-quarter EPS guidance to a range of 61 cents to 65 cents, ahead of the current consensus for 58 cents. Full-year EPS guidance is now $2.43 to $2.55, compared with an average analyst estimate of $2.45.