MGM China on Thursday declared a final dividend of HK$0.251 per share for the year ended 31 December 2024, which it said amounts to a total payout to shareholders of HK$953.8 million (US$119 million).
The company also announced an update to its official dividend policy under which it may pay “a regular dividend of up to 50% payout, plus special dividends if any” – enhanced from its previous policy of a regular dividend up to 35%.
MGM’s final dividend update followed release of its annual results for FY24 on Thursday in which the company revealed a profit attributable to owners of the company of HK$4.60 billion (US$575 million), increased from HK$2.64 billion (US$330 million) a year earlier.
As such, the final dividend represented approximately 20.7% of MGM’s profit attributable to owners of the company for the year ended 31 December 2024, however combined with the HK$0.353 special dividend declared in August means MGM has paid out around 50% of its FY24 profits to shareholders.
This, noted JP Morgan analysts in a note, stands out from MGM’s peers and makes the company’s shares “pretty attractive for medium-term shareholders.”
Likewise, the change to MGM’s official dividend policy, while not necessarily requiring the company to pay out 50% of profits each year, “indicates management’s growing confidence in its free cash flows, which we view as marginally positive,” the analysts said.
MGM China’s FY24 results included casino revenue of HK$27.8 billion (US$3.46 billion), up 25.0% from HK$21.8 billion (US$2.73 billion) a year earlier, and Adjusted EBITDA of HK$9.06 billion (US$1.13 billion), up 25.2%.
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