Boyd Gaming reports
earnings soar 176 percent

New slots help boost the quarter
for the gambling company

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From staff and wire reports

Casino operator Boyd Gaming Corp., which conducts charter travel packages from Hawaii to Las Vegas, yesterday reported higher third-quarter earnings, driven partly on increased revenue from startups of slot machines and dockside gambling in the past year.

Las Vegas-based Boyd reported net income of $11.3 million, or 17 cents a share, compared with $4.1 million, or 7 cents a share, a year earlier.

Earnings before pre-opening expenses and before early debt retirement were 23 cents a share, compared with 9 cents a share before pre-opening expenses a year earlier, Boyd said.

Consolidated net revenue rose to $308 million in the quarter from $273 million, mainly because of a slot machine startup at Louisiana's Delta Downs Racetrack and Casino in February and a dockside operations startup at Indiana's Blue Chip in August, Boyd said.

Total property earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization rose to $73.2 million in the quarter, from $58.5 million a year earlier.

Last month, Boyd said it was switching carriers in its Hawaii-Las Vegas charter business to Tulsa, Okla.-based Omni Air International from Hawaiian Airlines. Hawaiian said the contract was worth about $30 million in annual revenue but had not been profitable.

Boyd's stock closed up 23 cents today at $13.50 on the New York Stock Exchange and has gained 108 percent this year.