Boyd Gaming, the owner of such Las Vegas area casinos as the California, Orleans and Sam’s Town, reported its first-quarter earnings today.
Company: Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE: BYD)
Revenue: $552.4 million, up slightly from $550.6 million in the first quarter last year.
Earnings: $33.2 million, down slightly from $35.1 million a year ago. The company said it benefited last year from settlements of income tax appeals.
Earnings per share: 29 cents, compared to 31 cents in the first quarter of 2015.
What it means: The biggest developments on Boyd’s radar right now are its recently announced acquisitions of three casinos: the Aliante in North Las Vegas, and the valley’s two Cannery properties.
The company announced Thursday it reached an agreement to buy the Aliante for $380 million, then revealed Monday that it had a deal to buy the Las Vegas-area assets of Cannery Casino Resorts LLC for $230 million.
The Cannery deal includes the Eastside Cannery on Boulder Highway, next to the Boyd-owned Sam’s Town, and the Cannery casino in North Las Vegas, about 7 miles from Aliante.
Boyd CEO Keith Smith said on a conference call with analysts today that the acquisitions “represent an opportunity to further extend (Boyd’s) presence in the growing Las Vegas locals market.”
The purchases also reflect the company’s confidence in the future of the North Las Vegas market, which Smith said has recently grown faster than the valley’s broader locals gaming business.
In three to five years, Boyd expects Aliante to generate more than $40 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
The Cannery casinos, meanwhile, are expected to generate a combined $32 million in EBITDA during Boyd’s first full year of ownership.
Both transactions should close in the third quarter of this year, pending approval from Nevada gaming regulators and the Federal Trade Commission.
Boyd’s earnings report today showed its existing business in Nevada had a healthy start to the year. The company’s casinos that cater to Las Vegas locals had net revenue of $158.4 million, up 5.4 percent from the first quarter of 2015.
Its casinos in downtown Las Vegas had net revenue of $58.6 million, up 3.5 percent from a year earlier.
On the conference call, Smith spoke of positive signals from the Las Vegas economy, such as higher employment, a more diversified job base and a healthy amount of planned construction. And he said downtown’s reputation as an “attractive destination” for visitors continues to grow.
Outside Las Vegas, Boyd’s Borgata casino, which it owns jointly with MGM Resorts International, also had a strong quarter. That property had net revenue of $190.3 million, up 4.2 percent from the first quarter of 2015, Boyd said.