Earinings Preview: Casino operator Wynn to report 4th-qtr earnings on Thursday

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Earnings Preview: Wynn Resorts Ltd

LAS VEGAS — Casino operator Wynn Resorts Ltd. reports its first-quarter results after the stock market closes Thursday.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Operating results in Las Vegas and China and details about plans for developing a third property in Macau, the Chinese gambling enclave.

Wynn’s billionaire CEO, Steve Wynn, said last week as the $600 million Encore at Wynn Macau opened that he hopes to begin building the property on about 50 acres in the Cotai area of Macau next year.

Analyst Mark Strawn of Morgan Stanley Research told clients that he expects the Encore to outperform local competitors during the second half of this year and a Cotai project would be profitable to shareholders.

“Our base case earnings before taxes, depreciation and amortization estimate of $580 million implies a 21 percent first full-year return on invested capital, a higher initial return than any Cotai project to date and above consensus expectations,” he said.

WHY IT MATTERS: A third casino in Macau shows where Wynn is placing his bets for the future — and it’s not Sin City.

CEO Wynn last quarter said his company operates more as a Chinese company than an American one. He blames woes in Las Vegas on the American economy and says President Barack Obama’s administration has not focused enough on jobs.

He also said recently he is considering asking the board to move the company’s headquarters to China.

WHAT’S EXPECTED: Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Wynn resorts to earn 14 cents per share on revenue of $850 million.

LAST YEAR’S QUARTER: Wynn lost $33.8 million, or 30 cents per share, on revenue of $740 million.