Earnings hurt Magna stock

Stock in Magna Entertainment Corp. plummeted 13.1 percent on Friday, down 55 cents to $3.65, after the company released its second-quarter earnings for 2003.

Net income for the second quarter was $811,000, or one cent a share, two cents below the consensus estimate of analysts. Revenues in the quarter were $188.3 million, up 54.2 percent compared to the second quarter last year. Expenses were $187.6 million, up 48.5 percent.

Last year in the second quarter, Magna had net income of $45,000 on revenues of $128.2 million.

In a conference call with analysts on Friday morning, Magna officials said that increases in revenues and expenses were due to such recent acquisitions as Lone Star Park, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course in Maryland, and Flamboro Downs in Canada.

Magna cited poor weather at the company's tracks and the U.S. presence in Iraq for flat business. Magna owns Santa Anita Park, Golden Gate Fields and Bay Meadows in California; Gulfstream Park in Florida; Remington Park in Oklahoma; Thistledown in Ohio; a horse racing television station; and an account-wagering operation, XPressBet, among other tracks and businesses.