Boyd stock soars
on strong earnings

Dow Jones News Service

NEW YORK -- Investors drove up shares of Boyd Gaming Corp. 19.7 percent today following a strong earnings report earlier in the week.

Chief Financial Officer Ellis Landau said it's a sign the casino operator's geographic diversity is paying off.

"With Las Vegas having what we hope is a temporary imbalance, the strength in our out regions can offset that weakness and allow us to have these significant earnings in non-Las Vegas areas."

Boyd reported fiscal fourth-quarter income Wednesday of 12 cents a share, matching Wall Street analysts' expectations. In last year's fourth quarter, Boyd earned 6 cents a share.

Shares rose 19.6 percent yesterday, and today rose another $1.44 to close at $8.69 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company's shares have climbed steadily since hitting a 52-week low of $5.06 on Aug. 6 but is still well below its 52-week high of $11.75 a share on Aug. 28.

Investor excitement was evident today as volume grew to 1.2 million more than 25 times the average daily volume of 46,900.

Contributing to Boyd's earnings strength was its Par-A-Dice casino in Peoria, Ill., and Sam's Town in Tunica, Miss., and returns from managing the Silver Star casino in Mississippi.

Par-A-Dice, acquired in December holds a strong market position, Landau said. He noted that it is one of 10 casinos in the state and the only riverboat in central Illinois.

Sam's Town in Tunica, whose operating cash flow rose 129 percent in the quarter to $9 million, is benefiting from room additions, Landau noted. Expansion at Silver Star could also pump up earnings in the future, he said.

A weak spot for Boyd is its Stardust casino hotel in Las Vegas, which saw lower occupancy and flat average room rates because of added room supply in Las Vegas. However, the company is expecting the supply-and-demand ratio to improve as the room additions are absorbed, Landau said.

Boyd, founded by former Big Island resident Sam Boyd, also owns the California, Fremont and Stardust hotels and casinos in Las Vegas, which are popular with Hawaii vacationers.

Earlier this year the company's Boyd Travel Inc. bought Jackie's Travel, the popular isle tour packager that specialized in Las Vegas trips. Boyd entered the local travel agency business in 1995 when it purchased Vacations Hawaii.