Pinnacle Entertainment Q3 Loss Widens On Charges

(RTTNews) - Casino operator Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. (PNK), Wednesday posted a loss in the third quarter that widened from a year ago, hurt largely by costs associated with the acquisition of Ameristar Casinos Inc., and impairment related to divestiture of Lumiere Place Casino.

Pinnacle's third-quarter loss widened to $180.41 million or $3.07 per share from $358 thousand or breakeven per share last year.

The company's profit for the quarter was negatively impacted by pre-opening and development expenses related to the Ameristar acquisition of $63.1 million. The three-month period was also affected by a non-cash impairment charge of $144.6 million related to the divestiture of Lumiere Place Casino.

Adjusted earnings, which excludes one-time gains and losses, dropped to $0.11 per share from $0.30 per share last year. On average, 12 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.32 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Pinnacle in July agreed to buy peer Ameristar Casinos for a total enterprise value of $2.8 billion, including debt of $1.9 billion. The acquisition was closed in August. Last month, the company agreed to divest Lumiere Place Casino and Hotels to Tropicana Entertainment for $260 million.

Revenues for the third quarter surged 63.6 percent to $418.93 million from $256.15 million last year. Analysts expected revenue of $425.15 million for the quarter. Revenue growth were driven by the Ameristar acquisition.

Total expenses and other costs were $434.12 million, up from $223.46 million in the prior year.

PNK is currently trading at $24.20, up $1.48 or 6.51%, on the NYSE.