MGM Mirage Posts 32% Drop in Net Income

MGM Mirage, the No. 3 casino company in the U.S., said Tuesday that third-quarter earnings fell 32% because renovations at the Bellagio hotel and casino took rooms out of service and it won less from table games.

Net income at the owner of the MGM Grand and Mirage dropped to $47.2 million, or 31 cents a share, from $69.6 million, or 43 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 4.5% to $1.1 billion from $1.05 billion, Las Vegas-based MGM Mirage said.

The company said the Bellagio renovations took about 9% of rooms out of use.

MGM Mirage said the loss of the Siegfried & Roy magic show at the Mirage casino would reduce fourth-quarter profit by 1 cent a share to 28 cents, matching the average estimate of analysts, according to Thomson First Call. MGM Mirage shut down the show indefinitely after a tiger used in the act mauled performer Roy Horn.

MGM Mirage shares fell 66 cents to $35.54 in New York Stock Exchange trading.