Station grows net revenue, profit in fourth quarter

Red Rock Resort

Station Casinos, the locals-oriented casino company whose properties include Red Rock Resort, Green Valley Ranch and Palace Station, reported its fourth quarter and full-year earnings today.

Company: Station Casinos LLC

Revenue: $348 million for the fourth quarter, up 4.3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2014. For the full year, Station’s net revenue was $1.35 billion, up 4.7 percent from the year before.

Earnings: $41.9 million for the fourth quarter, up 25 percent from the same time one year earlier. For the full year, Station’s net income was $126.7 million, up 52.2 percent from 2014.

What it means: The biggest item on Station’s agenda right now, its planned initial public offering, was the one thing that Chief Financial Officer Marc Falcone said he could not discuss on the company’s earnings conference call today.

The planned IPO, which Nevada gaming regulators gave their blessing to last month, will put Station under a new holding company called Red Rock Resorts Inc., which is set to be publicly traded on the Nasdaq.

The IPO hasn’t happened yet — Reuters reported late last month that it would be postponed. Falcone said at the outset of the conference call that the company was in a quiet period and would not comment on the IPO.

He said the same thing on the last conference call. As was the case that time, no analysts asked any questions when Falcone finished his remarks today.

Falcone kept his comments focused on Station’s financial results and the local economic outlook. The fourth quarter marked Station’s eleventh straight quarter of year over year net revenue growth and its nineteenth straight quarter of year over year cash flow growth, according to a company statement.

The company’s Las Vegas operations did well in both periods, producing a 2 percent revenue increase in the fourth quarter and a 3.3 revenue increase for the year. Meanwhile, management fees from the Native American casinos that Station operates in California and Michigan rose 57 percent in the fourth quarter and 41.9 percent for the year.

Falcone said he saw good signals from the local economy in Southern Nevada, where most of the company’s operations are concentrated.

“We are optimistic about the momentum we are seeing in our business and believe the key economic and operating metrics we are experiencing indicate that a Las Vegas market recovery is under way,” he said.

Station said it had $2 billion in long-term debt at the end of the year.

Gaming

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