Regional casino operator Boyd Gaming reported only a minor year-on-year profit decline in Q3 despite revenue falling by one-fifth.

Figures released Monday show Boyd generated revenue of $652.2m in the three months ending September 30, down 20.4% from the same period last year, while earnings (pre-rent to its REIT landlord) gained 12% to $238.8m and profit dipped just 3.2% to $38.1m.

Boyd’s Q3 earnings margin was a record 36.6%, 10.5 points higher than the third quarter of 2019, as the company continued to selectively reopen its amenities following this spring/summer’s pandemic lockdown. As Boyd CEO Keith Smith noted in his Q2 analyst call, COVID-19 “carved a lot of costs out of the business” and the company has zero interest in bringing them back.

Of Boyd’s 29 properties, 18 reported double-digit earnings growth in Q3, while eight set all-time quarterly earnings records and three more set Q3 records. Boyd investors liked what they heard, as the stock closed Monday down nearly 2% — in line with the broader US casino sector’s performance – but regained all that ground in after-hours trading.