GGRAsia – MGM China announces US$0.015 interim dividend

MGM China announces US$0.015 interim dividend

Aug 04, 2017 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Macau casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd on Thursday said its board has declared an interim dividend of HKD0.116 (US$0.0148) per share for the six months ended June 30, 2017. The interim dividend, amounting to approximately HKD440.8 million in aggregate, is expected to be paid on September 8, the company said in a filing.

Hong Kong-listed MGM China said the final dividend represented nearly 35 percent of the firm’s profit attributable to its owners for the six months to June 30. U.S.-based casino operator MGM Resorts International controls a 56-percent stake in MGM China.

Net income attributable to MGM China’s owners was down by 2.3 percent from the prior year to approximately HKD1.27 billion for the first six months of 2017, according to Thursday’s filing.

MGM China saw its second-quarter revenue decrease 0.4 percent year-on-year, according to a filing released last week. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the April to June period fell by 1.5 percent to nearly HKD1.02 billion.

In Thursday’s filing, MGM China said its board declared the dividend after determining that the group “had sufficient resources after the payment of the interim dividend to finance its operations and expansion of its business, including the development of an additional casino and hotel complex in Cotai”.

MGM China currently operates a single property, MGM Macau (pictured), in the city’s traditional downtown casino district. The firm is currently building the HKD26-billion MGM Cotai, targeting for a fourth quarter opening.

“We are selectively allocating capital expenditure to enhance and refine MGM Macau and progress the development of our new MGM Cotai property,” said the Hong Kong-listed firm.

Japanese brokerage Nomura said in a report in May that it expected MGM China to contribute higher dividends to MGM Resorts in 2018 following the opening of MGM Cotai later this year.