Macau gaming concessionaire MGM China says it is readying itself to apply for an extension to its sub-concession agreement with the Macau SAR Government following last week’s announcement that current concessions would be extended by six months.
As reported by Inside Asian Gaming, the government is planning to extend the current 20-year gaming concessions and sub-concessions by six months, from their previous 26 June 2022 expiration date until 31 December 2022. TDM Radio said this week that operators would be required to pay between MOP$50 million and MOP$80 million each for the extension.
In a Thursday filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange announcing its FY21 financial results, MGM China confirmed that it intends to apply for an extension of its gaming sub-concession and “continues to closely monitor developments regarding the gaming concessions retendering or extension, including the issuance of guidance by the Macau Government.
“The Group intends to respond proactively and believes that it will be in position to satisfy the relevant requirements as they may be set out by the Macau Government relating to the retendering of a gaming concession or the extension of the existing gaming sub-concession,” it said. MGM China holds a sub-concession linked to the gaming concession held by SJM Resorts.
The company also confirmed on Thursday that it would not pay a dividend to shareholders for 2021, having reported a loss attributable to owners of the company of HK$3.85 billion (US$492 million) – narrowed from a loss of HK$5.20 billion (US$665 million) in 2020.
Adjusted EBITDA of HK$187.2 million (US$23.9 million) compared with an Adjusted EBITDA loss of HK$1.37 billion (US$175 million) in 2020, with gross casino revenue just about doubling to HK$10.53 billion (US$1.35 billion).
The company previously announced a 3% year-on-year and 9% sequential increase in revenue to HK$2.45 billion (US$315 million) for the three months to 31 December 2021.
MGM China said the various travel and entry restrictions in Macau, Hong Kong and mainland China “have had a significant adverse impact on the Group’s results … and will likely continue to impact the Group’s results due to the uncertainty of the length of time of the pandemic.”
