Company shares are boosted

Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2005 | 10:57 a.m.

Shares of Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment of Las Vegas soared nearly 12 percent in midmorning trading today as early returns from a new luxury resort in Louisiana boosted profit more than three times what analysts had expected.

Including $14.1 million in costs incurred prior to the opening of the $365 million resort, Pinnacle reported a loss of $4.2 million or 10 cents per share compared with a profit of $15.7 million or 43 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding one-time costs, the company reported a $9.9 million profit -- more than seven times the company's $1.4 million in earnings a year ago.

On a per share basis, Pinnacle earned 23 cents per share compared with 4 cents in the 2004 quarter.

Revenue rose 25 percent to $175 million. The L'Auberge du Lac casino in Lake Charles, La. generated $29.5 million in revenue in its first five weeks of operation -- higher than executives and Wall Street expected.

In early trading today, Pinnacle shares rose $2.52 to $23.88 per share.

Pinnacle owns the Boomtown casino in Reno in addition to casinos in Indiana, New Orleans, Louisiana, Mississippi and Argentina.