MGM Resorts 4th-qtr hurt by higher costs

(Reuters) - MGM Resorts International (MGM.N) posted a wider-than-expected loss despite a jump in revenue as the operator of the Bellagio, CityCenter and MGM Grand was hurt by higher costs.

The costs were higher than expected and it remains to be seen how much of the costs were one-time and how much will be rolled on, said David Bain, analyst at Sterne, Agee & Leach.

"We suspect the miss versus consensus is from higher-than-anticipated corporate expenses," FBR Capital Markets analyst Patrick Scholes said in a note to clients.

Earlier this month, rival Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS.N) posted an in-line profit as strong revenue from Asia was partly offset by higher expenses.

MGM has been spending more in Macau to compete with larger rivals Sands and Wynn Resorts Ltd (WYNN.O).

For the quarter, MGM posted a net loss of $113.7 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $139.2 million, or 29 cents a share, last year.

Excluding special items, MGM lost 21 cents a share, compared with analysts' estimates of a loss of 19 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Consolidated net revenue in the fourth quarter rose 55 percent to $2.3 billion beating analyst estimates of $2.22 billion.

Expenses rose 57 percent to $2.2 billion.

Rooms revenue at wholly owned domestic resorts rose 10 percent with a 13 percent increase in revenue per available room at the company's Las Vegas Strip resorts.

Analyst Bain said the Las Vegas results were solid with the outperformance of certain properties such as the Bellagio boding

well for the overall core portfolio.

Shares of the company were trading down 1 percent at $14.01 late morning on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock had nearly doubled in value until Tuesday since touching a year low in October last year.

(Reporting by Chris Jonathan Peters in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)