Macau casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd reported third-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of just above HKD1.98 billion (US$255.3 million). The result was up 5.3 percent from a year earlier, but down 18.8 from the preceding quarter, according to a Thursday filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Third-quarter revenue was up 14.0 percent year-on-year, to nearly HKD7.25 billion. Revenue fell by 8.9 percent sequentially, from HKD7.96 billion in the second quarter.
MGM China runs the resorts MGM Macau (pictured), on the Macau peninsula, and MGM Cotai in the city’s Cotai district. The company is majority owned by U.S.-based casino firm MGM Resorts International.
On a property basis, MGM Macau recorded revenue of HKD3.04 billion in the three months to September 30, up 5.8 percent from a year ago, but 6.7-percent lower quarter-on-quarter. The property’s adjusted EBITDA stood at HKD801.5 million, down 9.0 percent from prior-year period, and down 18.6 percent sequentially.
MGM Cotai saw revenue of nearly HKD4.21 billion in the third quarter of 2024, a 20.8-percent increase year-on-year, but down 10.4 percent from the preceding quarter. Adjusted EBITDA stood at HKD1.18 billion, up 17.8 percent from a year ago, but 18.9-percent lower sequentially.
In a separate press release, MGM China said it was “pleased” to see the momentum in Macau “continued this year, following a solid recovery in 2023”.
As a Hong Kong-listed company, MGM China reports its results on an interim and full-year basis, and provides quarterly highlights.
“MGM China continues to outperform industry recovery compared to pre-Covid levels,” stated the firm. It added that in the year to September 30, the average number of visitors per day to its properties “was up 65 percent from 2023,” and “represented 157 percent of 2019 levels”.
According to the casino operator, daily gross gaming revenue (GGR) and mass GGR – including from slot machines – “were up 40 percent and 46 percent respectively from last year” in the first nine months of 2024.
Daily GGR and mass GGR “represented 129 percent and 180 percent respectively of 2019,” added the company.
MGM China said its adjusted EBITDA stood at HKD6.93 billion in the nine months to September 30, up 37 percent from 2023, and a 150-percent increase from the comparable period in 2019.
Market share in terms of Macau GGR was 15.9 percent year-to-date, up from 9.5 percent in 2019, said the company.
The release cited Kenneth Xiaofeng Feng, president and an executive director at MGM China, as saying that the company was “investing in several capital improvements” across its properties.
“These initiatives include the renovation of our MGM Macau villas and converting some hotel rooms at MGM Cotai into suites,” he stated.
Mr Feng added: “We are also preparing the upcoming launch of our residency show ‘Macau 2049’ by the end of this year. We are devoted in enhancing the stay for our customers, driving organic visitation and bringing in unique experience for Macau visitors.”
MGM China declared a special dividend in August, spending just above HKD1.34 billion on the dividend. The casino firm resumed the payment of dividends in March this year, following years during which its business was negatively affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The parent MGM Resorts reported group-wide net income of US$184.6 million for the three months to September 30, on revenue that rose by 5.3 percent year-on-year, to US$4.18 billion.
