In announcing a banner fourth quarter at Wynn Macau, the Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of Wynn Resorts, Chairman Steve Wynn unveiled plans to invest about US million in revamping the west side of the casino.
“We have drawings in and we’re waiting final approval to start the construction on a very dramatic reinvention,” he said.
It’s an area of the casino that has underperformed, he explained, and the reconstruction will bring more space to the gaming floor in a combination of mass-market and “very high-end gaming”.
He also said that Wynn Palace, the company’s $4 billion Cotai resort, will open by Chinese New Year 2016, and the company is already mapping the second phase of the 51-acre site. Wynn Diamond, as it’s called, will nearly double the size of phase one and could open within two years of Wynn Palace’s debut.
Wynn Macau’s earnings surged 32 percent in the fourth quarter on a 25 percent increase in net revenue to US$1.12 billion.
The announcement accompanying parent Wynn Resorts’ results showed adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization at $374.2 million, up from $283.2 million in the year-ago period, beating the consensus of 10 analysts polled by Bloomberg, as the casino drew more big-spending cash players.
Wynn Macau “gained mass-market share as it converted 12 to 13 VIP gaming tables to mass in mid-October,” wrote Deutsche Bank analyst Karen Tang, and the lucrative segment could grow further this year after the company renovates its second hotel tower, said Morgan Stanley analyst Praveen Choudhary.
The Macau subsidiary was the biggest driver of corporate earnings in the quarter. Net income for Wynn Resorts nearly doubled to $213.9 million, or $2.10 per share, from $111.4 million in Q4 2012, on an 18 percent increase in revenue to $1.52 billion, of which $400 million was generated by the company’s two resorts on the Las Vegas Strip.
For the year, net revenues were $5.62 billion, up 9.1 percent over 2012. Adjusted property EBITDA grew 14.9 percent for a record $1.81 billion, driven principally by a record performance at Wynn Macau, where adjusted EBITDA rose 13.4 percent to $1.32 billion.
