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Boyd Gaming net
up slightly

Star-Bulletin staff

Boyd Gaming Corp. had virtually flat fourth-quarter earnings, reporting a net of $9.4 million, for the three months through Dec. 31, compared with a net of $9.3 million in the year-earlier quarter.

Per-share earnings for both quarters were 15 cents a share. Revenues for the latest quarter were $262 million, up 7.1 percent from $245 million a year earlier.

The Las Vegas-based company, which has a diversified mix of gaming operations, gets much of the business for its downtown Las Vegas properties from Hawaii. The company said the downtown businesses, which include the California, Fremont and Main Street Station hotels, had a record cash flow, thanks in part to increasing charter flights from Honolulu to seven a week, from six. The seventh flight was dropped after the end of the fourth quarter but will resume in March, the company said.

Also helping fourth-quarter performance was a strong initial earnings contribution from Blue Chip Casino, acquired Nov. 10.

Offsetting that and other earnings improvements were lower results from the Stardust on the Las Vegas Strip, because of the final phases of renovation as well as increased competition, and disruptions at Sam's Town Las Vegas because of a construction project.

For all of 1999, Boyd had a net profit of $38.3 million, up 33.9 percent from $28.6 million in 1998 and equal to 65 cents a share, up 41.3 percent from a year-earlier 46 cents a share. Full-year revenues of $733.7 million were up 1.6 percent from $722.1 million in 1998.

Boyd's Hawaii connections also include ownership of the Vacations Hawaii travel agency.