Wynn Resorts reports fourth-quarter net loss

Wynn Resorts (WYNN) tumbled to a fourth-quarter net loss due to a nearly $100 million tax expense and falling revenues at the company’s Las Vegas casinos.

The news, announced today after the close of normal stock market trading, sent the company’s shares down more than 14 percent in after-hours trading, erasing the day’s gains.

Wynn Resorts said its net loss in the fourth quarter that ended Dec. 31 was $159.6 million or a loss of $1.49 a share, compared with net income $65.5 million or 57 cents per share in the same quarter a year ago.

In the quarter, net revenues were $614.3 million compared with $711.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. The revenue drop was driven primarily by a decline in gaming volumes, significantly lower hold percentage and an overall drop in nongaming revenues in Las Vegas.

For all of 2008, Wynn Resorts said its net revenues were $3 billion, an 11.2 percent increase over 2007, primarily due to 35.6 percent higher revenues from Wynn Macau. But in Las Vegas, revenues declined 15.1 percent for the year.