Vegas company posts a profit

Friday, Aug. 6, 2004 | 11:10 a.m.

Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. of Las Vegas swung to a second-quarter profit on a property sale gain, revenue growth fueled by a newly expanded property and cost cutting.

The casino and hotel company on Thursday also boosted its earnings projection for the full year. Pinnacle said it earned $15.7 million, or 43 cents a share, compared with a loss of $2.4 million, or 9 cents a share, a year earlier.

Earnings for the latest quarter included a pretax gain on the sale of land in Inglewood, Calif., of $30.7 million. Adjusted earnings, excluding items, of $1.4 million, or 4 cents a share, versus an adjusted loss of $2 million, or 8 cents a share, a year earlier.

A Thomson First Call survey of eight analysts projected a second-quarter loss of 2 cents a share.

Second-quarter revenue increased by 4.9 percent to $139.9 million from $133.3 million a year ago.

Pinnacle Entertainment said second-quarter revenue at the expanded Belterra casino resort in Indiana swelled to $39.1 million from $33.6 million last year.

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