Melco Crown Entertainment (Nasdaq: MPEL) reported earnings yesterday. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Melco Crown Entertainment beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased significantly and GAAP earnings per share increased significantly.

Margins improved across the board.

Revenue details
Melco Crown Entertainment tallied revenue of $1.03 billion. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw a top line of $1.00 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 27% higher than the prior-year quarter's $806.6 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.23. The five earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.14 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.22 for Q1 were much higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.01 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 29%, 810 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 13.8%, 930 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 11.9%, 1,100 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.03 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.15.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $4.11 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.64.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,298 members rating the stock outperform and 51 members rating it underperform. Among 328 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 314 give Melco Crown Entertainment a green thumbs-up, and 14 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Melco Crown Entertainment is outperform, with an average price target of $15.79.