The chips are stacked so high that it's becoming difficult to see the dealer. Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) is on a roll. Its stock has doubled since February, and its most recent earnings have exceeded expectations.
On an adjusted basis, the casino operator saw third-quarter earnings climb from $0.15 per share last year to $0.38 per share, edging analyst estimates. Meanwhile, revenues climbed 68% to $522 million, and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) increased 109% to $133 million.
The bulk of the gains can be attributed directly to the recent acquisition of Las Vegas locals casino operator Coast Casinos. The $1.3 billion deal, which closed July 1, (see Boyd Takes the Coast), added $162 million in revenue and $45 million in EBITDA to Boyd's third-quarter result. On their own, the Coast properties managed revenue growth of 9.4% while increasing property EBITDA by 21%. Over the past 12 months, Coast has produced revenues of $642 million and $187 million in EBITDA.
Boyd also reported gains across the broad range of its operations, with same-store revenue climbing 3.6%. The Borgata, a 50-50 joint venture with MGM Mirage (NYSE:MGG) in the Atlantic City market, led the way, as revenues at the property grew 24% to $169 million. The Borgata reported an EBITDA margin of 33.9%, a nice improvement over the 20.4% margin the property saw in its first quarter of operation last summer. As a result, Boyd's share of the property's EBITDA jumped 175% to $24.4 million.
With winnings like this combined with sky-high room rates in Atlantic City, Boyd announced an additional expansion project in the form of a new hotel tower. The tower will feature about 800 guest rooms, suites, and "resort condominiums."
Elsewhere, the company's Central region -- consisting of five riverboats and a "racino" (a racetrack with slots) in Indiana, Illinois, Mississippi, and Louisiana -- reported revenue growth of 22% as well as a 15.5% increase in EBITDA. Boyd attributed those gains to the addition of Sam's Town Shreveport in the Shreveport/Bossier City, La., market, which the company purchased from Harrah's Entertainment (NYSE:HET) earlier this year.
The hot hand was also evident at the Stardust on Las Vegas Strip, which saw revenues increase 10.7% to $35.8 million while turning an EBITDA loss into a gain of $3.1 million.
This winning streak has several causes. A portion of the gains can be attributed to the acquisition of Coast Casinos, which establishes Boyd as a Las Vegas locals power alongside Station Casinos (NYSE:STN). And, in addition to the cash flow generated from the Borgata, the experience gained from the company's role in the property demonstrates that Boyd can be a player on the Las Vegas Strip. That will become an important factor as the company begins to draw up redevelopment plans for the land the Stardust sits on, and more immediately relevant as Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN) will open the highly anticipated Wynn Las Vegas just up the street next spring. In the meantime, investors will be crossing their fingers and hoping that the hot hand continues.
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Fool contributor Jeff Hwang owns none of the companies mentioned above.
