Macau casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd is set to deploy in the third quarter more gaming tables at its properties, and expand its sales and marketing teams, in a bid to drive more international customers to its venues.
So said the company’s management on Wednesday, during an investor conference call after the announcement of the second-quarter results of MGM Resorts International, the parent of MGM China.
MGM China runs MGM Macau on the city’s peninsula, and MGM Cotai (pictured).
Bill Hornbuckle, chief executive and president of MGM Resorts, said on Wednesday’s call that the group had completed some renovations at both properties in Macau “just a few weeks ago”. The company plans to complete in the third quarter the “deployment optimisation” of its additional gaming tables, he added.
MGM China got a 36-percent increase in the number of gaming tables allocated to the firm, i.e., an additional 200 tables, under its new Macau gaming concession that began on January 1. The company has received authorisation to operate a total of 750 gaming tables and 1,700 gaming machines under its new licence.
“We do think we’ve done a good job of deploying the 200 tables we got,” Mr Hornbuckle stated. “There are about 150 in play with 50 more to go. And I think that will help our share story as we get to the second half of the year.”
The CEO added: “In Macau, we are focused in four key priorities: activating our incremental 200 tables; making changes to our casino floor to maximise yield; taking care of our premium-mass customers; and driving international customers to our properties through our global branch office network.”
Hubert Wang, president and chief operating officer of MGM China, also said on the call that the company was seeking to expand its sales and marketing teams.
“I think that this is going to be very important for our customer acquisition. We’re going to leverage our network that MGM Resorts has internationally to push the overseas market,” he stated.
Mr Wang added: “I think that we have already made a lot of progress, and we’re going to open more offices and double our head count, sales and marketing people in these areas.”
The MGM China COO also said that “capital projects and enhancements” to the properties “remain a very important element” to improve the customers’ experience, “particularly at the premium mass side”.
“At MGM Macau, we’re going to do a renovation in the coming months and the quarters,” noted Mr Wang. “And there are also a lot of non-gaming programmes and products that we’re going to either renovate or build under the retendering concession commitment.”
The executive also said that MGM China’s results in July were “very strong”.
“We are looking at higher numbers than the second quarter. So, I’m very optimistic on the balance of the year in terms of recovery and the financial results,” he added. “We are already moving beyond recovery; we are talking about growth.”
Asked about recently-published measures by China’s State Council potentially to expand consumption in the country, Mr Wang said the “stimulation package” might be “another push for the mass segment, particularly at the mid- to lower-end of mass”.
The recovery in the Macau gaming market has “so far been driven by the premium-mass segment,” noted the COO. “But I think the longer-term recovery will be a broad spectrum … the demand will come from every segment of the mass market.”
