Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd reported fourth-quarter 2023 adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of just under HKD2.81 billion (US$358.7 million). The result was up 1.4 percent sequentially, and compared with a negative figure of HKD163 million in fourth-quarter 2022.
The firm gave the information in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
Galaxy Entertainment also announced a special dividend of HKD0.30 per share, payable on April 26. The group paid a special dividend of HKD0.20 per share on October 27, which had been mentioned with its interim results.
Fourth-quarter net revenue rose by 6.9 percent sequentially, to nearly HKD10.32 billion. Such revenue was up 253.9 percent from the prior-year period.
The group’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the three months to December 31 was just above HKD9.24 billion, up 5.7 percent quarter-on-quarter, and a 406.7-percent increase from a year ago.
Galaxy Entertainment runs its flagship casino resort Galaxy Macau (pictured) on Cotai; the StarWorld Hotel, the group’s main venue on Macau peninsula; and Broadway Macau, the mass-market focused property next door to Galaxy Macau.
The company reported net revenue of HKD35.68 billion for full-year 2023, up 211.0 percent year-on-year. The casino operator had a net profit of HKD6.87 billion last year, versus a loss of HKD3.43 billion in 2022.
Adjusted EBITDA stood at HKD9.96 billion in 2023, compared to a negative figure of HKD553 million in the prior year, according to Wednesday’s filing.
Lui Che Woo, chairman of Galaxy Entertainment, was quoted in the announcement as saying: “We continue to drive every segment of the business with a particular focus on the mass business and continue to allocate resources to their most efficient use.”
He added: “We are the first Macau concessionaire to resume dividends and return capital to shareholders after the border reopened. These dividends demonstrate our continued confidence in the longer-term outlook of Macau and for the company.”
Bangkok office soon
As of December 31, Galaxy Entertainment’s cash and liquid investments amounted to HKD25.0 billion and its net cash figure was HKD23.5 billion. Total debt was HKD1.5 billion, which the firm said primarily reflected its “ongoing treasury yield management initiatives”.
The chairman stated: “Our solid balance sheet and cash flow from operations allows us to fund our development pipeline and pursue our international expansion ambitions.”
Galaxy Entertainment begun to open its Phase 3 of its Galaxy Macau complex during 2023. The 450-room Raffles at Galaxy Macau hotel tower had a soft opening to the public in mid-August.
Andaz Macau, the second of the two new hotels in Phase 3 of the complex, launched on September 15. All of the Andaz Macau’s 700 rooms and suites became available before the Chinese New Year holiday period earlier this month.
Andaz Macau is directly connected to Galaxy International Convention Center (GICC) and the 16,000-seat Galaxy Arena, both of which launched in the first half of 2023.
In Wednesday’s announcement, the casino firm said it was “now firmly focused on the development of Phase 4” of Galaxy Macau.
Phase 4, scheduled to be completed in 2027, is to include “multiple high-end hotel brands,” as well as a 4,000-seat theatre, retail and a water resort deck. “We will continue to adjust the development timeline in accordance with the market demand,” stated the company.
During 2023, Galaxy Entertainment opened overseas offices in Tokyo, Japan, and in South Korea’s capital Seoul. The firm said it would open “soon” another overseas office in Bangkok, Thailand.
“Competition for high-value international tourists is significant and we will strive to support” the Macau’s government initiative of attracting more overseas visitors, said the company.
