MGM leads gains as revenues leap

Melody Chen

Net revenues at MGM China (2282) jumped about 53 percent year on year to US$2.07 billion (HK$16.15 billion) in the first half.

News of the result came as gaming revenue growth for Macau further slowed down to 12 percent last month from a year ago.

Adjusted property earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortization and rent in the first six months of the year was US$595 million (HK$4.64 billion), up 57 percent from one year ago.

Adjusted property Ebitdar for the second quarter ended June reached a new high of US$294 million, marking a 40-percent increase compared to US$209 million in the same period of the previous year.

Second-quarter net revenues reached US$1 billion, up 37 percent from US$741 million, driven by the continued ramp-up of operations following the universally welcomed removal of Covid-19 related travel and entry restrictions by the mainland early last year.

Interim total revenue surged 52.3 percent to HK$16.22 billion.

Of this, revenue from MGM Macau increased by 37.3 percent to HK$6.76 billion, while revenue from MGM Cotai rose 65.2 percent to HK$9.46 billion.

MGM China's market share in the first half climbed to 16.5 percent, up from 14.9 percent in the same period last year and 9.5 percent in 2019.

MGM Cotai's market share was 9.8 percent, while MGM Macau contributed 6.7 percent.

The casino operator saw hotel guest numbers for the first half rise by 85 percent year on year, reaching 153 percent of 2019 levels.

The average hotel occupancy rate was 93.9 percent, up from 91.7 percent last year.

MGM Macau's interim room occupancy increased from 93.8 percent in 2023 to 94.1 percent, while MGM Cotai's climbed from 90.8 percent to 93.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said that gaming revenue for last month was 18.6 billion patacas (HK$18.1 billion), which grew less than market expectations of a 14-percent increase.

Gaming revenue for the first seven months of the year surged by 36.7 percent from 2023 to 132.35 billion patacas.

Shares of casino operators showed a mixed picture yesterday.

Of those counters that advanced, MGM China rose 4.04 percent, Sands China (1928) increased 1.91 percent, and Wynn Macau (1128) went up 1.73 percent.

For those that didn't fare as well, Galaxy Entertainment (0027) fell 0.15 percent, SJM Holdings (0880) dropped 1.19 percent, and Melco International Development (0200) decreased by 0.44 percent.