NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of casino operator Wynn Resorts Ltd. fell Friday after analysts said fourth-quarter results raised questions about growth in the key Asian market of Macau.
THE SPARK: The company said after the close of regular trading Thursday that net income surged 67 percent in the last three months of 2011 to $190.5 million, or $1.52 per share, compared with a year earlier. But $31 million came from a tax break as the company took back money it had put in reserve.
THE ISSUE: Analysts with UBS and CitiGroup said that Wynn's adjusted earnings should have been $1.23 to $1.25 per share, which would have put it below the forecast of $1.28 per share by analysts surveyed by FactSet. Revenue was also less than expected. Revenue from Macau, the Chinese administrative region that has become a gambling and tourism destination, rose 9.1 percent.
A message was left with a company spokesman seeking comment, but it was not immediately returned.
THE ANALYSIS: Sterne, Agee & Leach analyst David Bain lowered his estimate of the company's 2012 earnings per share to $6.04 from $6.17.Bain said in a note to investors Friday that the biggest negative in the fourth quarter was another sequential decline in Wynn's VIP business in Macau. He said some key junket operators were spreading their players around and Wynn's market share there has dropped to 12.5 percent from 15 percent in 2010 and will be about 10 percent this year.
Wynn faces growing competition in Macau from Las Vegas Sands Corp. and other operators. Wynn plans to fight back with a new casino in Cotai, Macau.
Brean Murray, Carret & Co. analyst Ryan Worst said the results revealed "a more difficult environment in Macau," and he lowered his estimate of the company's 2012 earnings per share to $5.71 from $5.79 on more modest expectations in Macau and Las Vegas. He said there was room to grow if the economy in either place picked up.
Harry C. Curtis, an analyst with Nomura Securities, said Wynn was "not running on all cylinders in Macau yet." He lowered his price target on the stock but kept a "Buy" rating.
SHARE ACTION: Wynn Resorts shares fell $5.67, or 4.7 percent, to $115.11 in afternoon trading.



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