MGM announces interim results, says Cotai project ‘moving along at full steam’

MGM China has released its interim results for the first six months of 2014, which saw an increase of 43 percent in table games win during the period. The company board has declared an interim dividend of HKD28 cents per share.
According to the information released by MGM China, the group’s mass table games growth has again outperformed the overall Macau market.
“Main floor table games and slots continue to grow as a percentage of our EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), and during the second quarter represented 77 percent of our EBITDA, up from 70 percent in the first quarter. The high contribution from mass increased stability and improved margins,” the group revealed.
In the first half of 2014, MGM China’s net revenue has risen 12 percent to HKD13 billion. The adjusted EBITDA margin also reached 27.4 percent, which the group suggested was driven by record business in the main floor table games segment.
MGM’s slot handle also rose 12 percent compared with the same period last year. This is despite the fact that the slot revenue was down three percent.
Moreover, the casino operator has reallocated some of the lower-performing junket tables to the mass floor since the beginning of this year. The VIP turnover and profit in the first six months have both increased by one percent.
In terms of hotel rooms, MGM Macau has achieved an occupancy rate of 98.6 percent, with the revenue per available room rising 11 percent to HKD2,316.
MGM China said that Macau Peninsula continues to be an attractive and growing market. In order to maintain this, the group will invest HKD780 million in MGM Macau, leading up to the opening of the company’s Cotai Resort.
Furthermore, the group stated that its Cotai construction “is moving along at full steam.” “We are near the completion of our extensive basement work and can now move on to the construction of the hotel towers. Featuring up to 1,600 hotel rooms and 500 tables, with over 85 percent gross floor area allocated for non-gaming, the project is on budget to open in 2016,” read MGM’s statement.  JPL

MGM Resorts posts profit that tops estimates on Vegas gaming

MGM Resorts International, the largest owner of casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, reported second-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates, helped by an increase in gambling in the U.S. Net income totaled $105.5 million, or 21 cents a share, compared with a loss of $93 million, or 19 cents, a year earlier, the Las Vegas-based company said yesterday in a statement. Analysts projected 10 cents, the average of 20 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. MGM joins rival Wynn Resorts Ltd. in reporting an increase in gambling in Las Vegas in the second-quarter. Casino revenue at MGM’S domestic resorts rose 6 percent, driven by table games, while room revenue on the Las Vegas strip also advanced 6 percent.