Mandalay Bay bolsters Circus operating net

Thursday, May 20, 1999 | 11:09 a.m.

Though open for just 59 days, Circus Circus Enterprises Inc.'s new Mandalay Bay resort helped the company record higher revenue and operating income for its fiscal 2000 first quarter ended April 30.

Circus Circus said operating income was $39.4 million, or 43 cents a share, in the latest quarter, up 87 percent from $21.6 million, or 23 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

After $67.4 million of pre-opening writeoffs related to Mandalay Bay and the company's Las Vegas time-share and Detroit hotel-casino developments, Circus posted a net loss of $4.9 million in the latest quarter.

In the 59 days following its March opening, Mandalay Bay generated operating cash flow before preopening expenses of $22.6 million, Circus Circus said.

Luxor's operating cash flow rose to $29.1 million from $22.7 million due to higher room and occupancy rates in its 4,400 rooms and despite a lower table-game win percentage.

Excalibur's operating cash flow rose to $23.6 million from $21.0 million and Circus Circus-Las Vegas turned in $17.4 million against $11.9 million in the fiscal 1999 first quarter, Circus said.

The company attributed the improved results in Las Vegas to a sharp increase in visitor counts to the Las Vegas Strip stimulated by new attractions such as Mandalay Bay and Mirage Resorts Inc.'s Bellagio.

In Reno, the company generated $9.2 million in operating cash flow including Circus' half ownership of the Silver Legacy, down a bit from $10 million in last year's first quarter, when the city hosted a bowlers' convention that contributed to room demand and slot revenue.

In Laughlin, the company's two properties posted an upturn in operating cash flow to $11.4 million from $9.5 million, Circus said.

Operating cash flow at the Gold Strike in Tunica County, Miss., nearly doubled to $9.1 million from $5 million due to an increase in room inventory. In Elgin, Ill., Circus' 50 percent-owned Grand Victoria recorded $20.5 million in operating cash flow, up slightly from $19.3 million a year ago.

A stock-repurchase program reduced the number of shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis by 3.8 million shares this year, to about 91.5 million.