Wynn Resorts Ltd. cut its dividend on Tuesday, as the casino
operator swung to a quarterly loss amid steep declines in Macau,
China's semiautonomous gambling hub.
The news sent its shares down more than 11% in recent afterhours
trading.
The quarterly dividend was reduced to 50 cents a share from
$1.50 and comes as a corruption crackdown, tighter regulations and
a weakening economy on the mainland have cut into Wynn's business
in Macau, the only place in China where casinos are legal.
For the most recent period, Wynn reported revenue from its Macau
operations fell 38% to $705 million, with table games turnover in
its VIP segment declining 52%.
Average daily rates fell 2.1% to $331, while occupancy fell to
97.5% from $98.1% a year earlier.
Revenue per available room, a closely watched figure to measure
performance in the industry, fell 2.4% to $323.
In addition to its majority-stake at Wynn Macau, Las Vegas-based
Wynn Resorts owns a resort in Las Vegas and is developing a resort
in Everett, Mass., north of Boston.
In the latest period, Wynn's Las Vegas operations posted a 1.6%
increase in revenue to $387 million. Room revenues were down 3.3%,
and occupancy fell to 83% from 88%.
Overall, Wynn reported a loss of $44.6 million, or 44 cents a
share, compared with earnings of $227 million, or $2.22 a share, in
the year-ago period.
Excluding preopening costs and other items, profit fell to 70
cents a share from $2.32 a share a year earlier.
Revenue fell to $1.09 billion from $1.51 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected $1.30 a share on
$1.16 billion in revenue.
Write to Angela Chen at angela.chen@dowjones.com
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