Domestic resorts help MGM Resorts beat Street 1Q forecasts

MGM Resorts beat first-quarter earnings expectations on the strength of revenue increases at its domestic resorts, stoked by the acquisition of the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa and the opening of MGM National Harbor in December.

The casino and resort operator reported first-quarter earnings of $207 million for the quarter, more than tripling the $66.8 million for the same period a year ago. Casino revenue for the first quarter of 2017 increased 50 percent over the same quarter last year.

On a per-share basis, the Las Vegas-based company said it had profit of 36 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were 38 cents per share. The company posted earnings of 12 cents per share in last year's first quarter.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 26 cents per share.

The company posted revenue of $2.71 billion in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.61 billion. Revenue for the same period last year came in at $2.21 billion.

Not including the Borgata and MGM National Harbor additions, net revenue was still up 29 percent over last year's quarter.

MGM Resorts International shares rose nearly 3 percent to $30.56 in midday trading. MGM shares have risen more than 8 percent since the beginning of the year and nearly 40 percent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated in part by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MGM at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MGM

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Keywords: MGM Resorts, Earnings Report