GGRAsia – MGM China board proposes US$46-mln dividend

MGM China board proposes US$46-mln dividend

Aug 02, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Macau casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd says its board has proposed the payment of an interim dividend of HKD0.094 per share, amounting to approximately HKD357.2 million (US$45.6 million) in aggregate.

Hong Kong-listed MGM China said in a Thursday statement that the interim dividend represented nearly 34.9 percent of the firm’s profit attributable to its owners for the six months ended June 30, 2019.

Net income attributable to MGM China’s owners rose by 45.1 percent from the prior year to approximately HKD1.02 billion in the first half of 2019.

For the first six months of this year, MGM China’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation were up 33.3 percent in year-on-year terms to about HKD3.08 billion. Revenue was up 24.5 percent, to about HKD11.30 billion, MGM China’s parent company, MGM Resorts International, said in its earnings results released last week.

U.S.-based MGM Resorts International is entitled to an aggregate dividend of about HKD200 million, based on its 56-percent stake in MGM China.

Japanese brokerage Nomura had said in 2017 that it expected MGM China to contribute higher dividends to MGM Resorts starting in 2018 following the opening of its MGM Cotai casino resort, which took place on February 13 last year.

The interim dividend announced for the six months to June 30 was 46.9-percent higher than the HKD0.064 dividend per share approved for the comparable period in 2018, according to company documents.

MGM China said in its Thursday filing that the latest dividend is expected to be paid on August 29, to shareholders whose names appear on the register of members on August 20.

“The board has resolved to declare the interim dividend after reviewing the group’s general financial position, its capital and liquidity requirements going forward and other factors that the board considered relevant,” said MGM China. But the company added that the interim dividend “should not be taken as an indication of the level of profit or dividend for the full year”.