Wynn revenue doubles as Cotai property leads recovery

Wynn Macau’s operating revenues doubled to USD600 million, compared to the USD298 million recorded a year ago, according to its first quarter earnings result.

The gaming operator’s net loss narrowed to USD49.8 million from the USD188 million compared to the same period last year.

During the first quarter, Wynn generated USD156 million of EBITDA in the quarter with lower-than-normal VIP hold negatively impacting EBITDA by about USD10 million.

In the casino, mass table drop reached 82% of Q1 2019 levels, and its VIP hold normalized market share was over 14% during the quarter “despite unusually low hold in our mass business at Wynn Macau and the fact that significant portions of Wynn Macau’s East casino were closed for renovation during the quarter,” according to Craig Billings, Wynn Resorts’ chief executive officer.

“Looking forward, market wide GGR momentum in Macau has been very impressive, building through the first quarter and accelerating into April,” Billings said in an earnings call with analysts.

Wynn has seen its retail business strengthen, with tenant retail sales increasing 60% compared to the first quarter of 2019.

“Who would have thought even six months ago that the market would be run rating north of USD22 billion of annual GGR?” said Billings.

“In April, our mass drop per day increased versus Q1, our direct VIP turnover per day increased meaningfully versus Q1, and occupancy and retail sales were very healthy. More recently, the May Golden Week holiday period was particularly strong, outperforming Golden Week 2019 in several key areas,” he added.

This month, the daily April EBITDA was over the Q1 average daily EBITDA.

During the holidays, the operator’s overall mass table drop was nearly 10% above 2019 Golden Week levels, while its direct VIP turnover was more than double 2019 levels.

Wynn Palace to drive groupís recovery

Performance during and after the quarter was skewed toward Wynn Palace, driven both by the mix of customers who returned to Macau in the initial reopening wave and the renovation-related closures of Wynn Macau.

The group expects Wynn Palace will continue to pace ahead of Wynn Macau in the recovery due to various factors at play.

This includes the number of changes the group is making to Wynn Macau.

Its Macau-side property underwent significant refreshment of the East casino, which disrupted significant numbers of pits concurrently.