A 65.6% increase in revenue at Wynn Palace to US$693.4 million has helped Wynn Macau Ltd comfortably beat consensus in 4Q17, with the company gaining market share in both mass market and VIP.
Total operating revenue across the company’s two Macau properties grew 43.1% to US$1.3 billion, up from US$917.1 million 12 months earlier, with net profit growing more than 300% to US$187.3 million.
But while both Wynn Macau on the Peninsula and Wynn Palace in Cotai enjoyed strong increases, it was the latter leading the way.
Casino revenues from Wynn Palace in 4Q17 were US$648.6 million, a 73.8% increase from the US$373.2 million recorded in the same period in 2016. In the VIP segment, table games turnover grew 57.1% to US$16.23 billion, with table game win aiding the company’s bottom line at 3.02%
Table drop in mass market operations was US$1.12 billion, a 55.1% increase year-on-year, with table games win in mass market operations of US$264.5 million, up 65.7%. Slot machine handle also increased by 72.3% to US$920.6 million.
Adjusted Property EBITDA from Wynn Palace was US$190.1 million for the fourth quarter, representing a 145.3% increase from US$77.5 million for the same period in 2016.
On the Peninsula, Wynn Macau recorded net revenues of US$618.6 million for the three months to 31 December 2017, up 24.1% increase year-on-year from US$498.4 million. Casino revenues were US$582.9 million, a 25.3% increase from $465.3 million for the same period of 2016 thanks primarily to a strong performance in the VIP segment.
Table games turnover in VIP operations was US$15.62 billion, representing a 44.7% increase from US$10.80 billion 12 months earlier and contributing revenue of US$451.4 million.
Table drop in mass market operations grew at a more modest 14.1% to US$1.25 billion, with win of US$230.1 million up 18.6% increase from the US$193.9 million recorded in 4Q16. Slot machine handle recorded a 16.8% increase to US$937.6 million.
Adjusted Property EBITDA from Wynn Macau was US$186.0 rising 25.0% year-on-year from US$148.9 million.
The results comfortably beat consensus expectations with Morgan Stanley analysts lauding “Wynn’s ability to continue to ramp its Wynn Palace property.
“1Q18 EBITDA is tracking above 4Q17 and Chinese New Year outlook seems strong,” they added.
“Wynn is working on a plan to develop Phase 2 of Cotai with 11 acres of available land, which should continue to drive future growth.”
While Wynn moved up to 10 tables from mass to VIP during the quarter, “mass table productivity rose significantly,” Morgan Stanley continued. “We believe Palace mass and slot revenue/unit/day, at US$14,600 and US$608 respectively, were probably the highest among all casinos in Macau in 4Q17.”
Wynn Macau Ltd’s parent company, Wynn Resorts Ltd, saw its combined revenue grow 29.9% to US$1.69 billion in 4Q17 on the back of its Macau results, with its Las Vegas operations suffering a US$6.2 million decline.