The Capella at Galaxy Macau hotel (pictured) had a soft launch in early May, confirmed on Thursday the complex’s promoter, Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd.
“We anticipate to have the property fully opened over the next few months,” stated Francis Lui Yiu Tung, Galaxy Entertainment’s chairman, in comments included in the company’s unaudited highlights of its business for the three months to March 31.
Capella at Galaxy Macau is a new 17-storey luxury hotel, featuring 36 villas and 57 “jungle-themed” suites, by French design house Moinard – Bétaille, based in Paris.
Analysts at Citigroup said they were “very impressed” by the quality of a premium-mass room at Capella, branded “Horizon Plus”.
“Galaxy’s newest premium-mass room is strategically located near hotel elevators, which means players do not need to walk miles to get to gaming tables from their suites,” observed the institution in a Wednesday memo.
“Near the entrance of the room is an open gaming area with 16 baccarat tables – most tables with minimum bets of HKD5,000 [US$643] and HKD10,000 – and a dining area,” said the bank.
It added: “At the back of the room, there are six private salons. Each of the salons has two to three baccarat tables, and some of the salons are equipped with KTV systems”.
“In our view, Horizon Plus at Capella has potential to become one of the top premium mass rooms in Macau,” wrote the institution.
“Two of the players we saw there were whales – one with an HKD8 million chip stack and the other one with HKD5 million,” noted Citigroup. The bank defines whales as patrons with a bet size of HKD100,000 or more.
“Three out of the six private salons were occupied when we were there,” it added.
Higher revenue
Galaxy Entertainment reported first-quarter revenue of HKD11.20 billion, up 6.2 percent from a year earlier.
The company recorded adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) that went up 16.3 percent from the prior-year period, to nearly HKD3.30 billion. Judged sequentially, adjusted EBITDA was up 1.8 percent.
The group’s total gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the three months to March 31 was nearly HKD10.94 billion, up 13.6 percent year-on-year, but down 0.8 percent sequentially.
Mass GGR was HKD8.23 billion, a 6.5-percent increase from a year earlier, while VIP GGR was HKD1.98 billion, up 52.3 percent year-on-year.
Galaxy Entertainment’s first-quarter results “were broadly in-line across the board, including GGR market shares, EBITDA and margins, stated JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd in a Thursday memo.
The casino firm’s EBITDA “was not as bad as feared,” it added. “Galaxy’s EBITDA was up 2 percent quarter-on-quarter … coming in above consensus and JP Morgan’s estimates,” said the brokerage.
“This outperformed the [Macau] industry’s EBITDA momentum – down 1 percent quarter-on-quarter – but partly helped by favourable VIP luck impact (+HKD330 million) as widely expected,” it added.
Galaxy Macau was the primary contributor to the group’s revenue and earnings in the January to March period. The complex’s net revenue in the first quarter was HKD9.15 billion, up 10.0 percent year-on-year, and its adjusted EBITDA stood at HKD3.02 billion, 15.4-percent higher than a year earlier.
Mr Lui stated: “During the quarter we continued to drive every segment of the business in particular the premium mass through our unparalleled products and service, ongoing property enhancements, diverse entertainment shows and events, as well as the full implementation of smart tables, among others.”
“We were satisfied with our casinos’ performance over the Chinese New Year [in early February] and in particular the post Chinese New Year which experienced a longer tail than previously,” he added.
“During March we made a few adjustments to Galaxy Macau’s main gaming floor, adding new electronic games which was partially disruptive for the month,” the chairman explained.
Galaxy Entertainment’s balance sheet remained “healthy and liquid,” said the company, with cash and liquid investments increasing to HKD33.0 billion. The net position stood at HKD29.0 billion after deducting debt of HKD4.0 billion.
The company also said construction of Galaxy Macau’s Phase 4 was “well under way”.
Phase 4 will include multiple high-end hotel brands “new to Macau,” as well as a 5000-seat theatre, food and drinks outlets, retail, non-gaming amenities, a water resort deck and a casino. Phase 4 is scheduled to be completed in 2027, said Galaxy Entertainment.
