Inside Asian Gaming

May 2012 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 103 Briefs a statement. “Every aspect of our business is providing a meaningful contribution to our strong financial performance.” IGT also reported a 16% year-on-year increase in product sales in the quarter ended 31st March, to nearly US$241 million. Despite the overall revenue increase, IGT’s net income for the fiscal second quarter fell 8% year-on-year to US$62.4 million, largely because of non-recurring expenses including acquisitions-related costs and a distributor settlement. The company said factoring out those costs, income would have grown 10% to $144.2 million. Wynn Resorts Q1 revenue buoyed by Macau Wynn Resorts, Ltd reported net revenues for the first quarter of 2012 were US$1,313.5 million, compared to $1,260.3 million in the first quarter of 2011. The revenue increase was driven by the 9.8% increase in revenues from its Macau operations, which was offset by an 8.1% decline in its revenues in Las Vegas. In the first quarter of 2012, net revenues at Wynn Macau were US$950.7 million, a 9.8% increase from the $865.7 million generated in the first quarter of 2011. Adjusted property EBITDA in the first quarter of 2012 was $289.8 million, up 6.2% from $272.8 million in the first quarter of 2011. Table games turnover inWynn Macau’s VIP segment was US$33.5 billion in the first quarter of 2012, a 14.6% increase from $29.3 billion in the year-ago quarter. VIP table games win as a percentage of turnover (calculated before discounts and commissions) in the quarter was 2.59%, below the expected range of 2.7% to 3.0% and the 2.69% experienced in the first quarter of 2011. Table games drop in the mass market category was US$707.4 million during the period, a 3.6% increase from $682.5 million in the first quarter of 2011, despite the decrease in mass tables from 224 to 197. Mass market table games win percentage (calculated before discounts) of 30.3% was higher than the company’s revised range of 26% to 28% and above the 27.9% generated in the 2011 quarter. Slot machine handle in Macau declined 0.6% year-on-year to US$1.5 billion in the quarter. Win per unit per day was 8.4% higher at $871, compared to $803 in the first quarter of 2011 as slot count went down by 85 machines. First quarter net revenues at Wynn Resorts’ Las Vegas operations were US$362.8 million, down 8.1% from Q1 2011. Adjusted property EBITDA of $100.9 million was down 23.6% versus the $132.1 million generated in the comparable period in 2011. EBITDA margin on net revenues was 27.8% in the first quarter of 2012 compared to 33.5% in the first quarter of 2011. Net casino revenues at the Vegas operations in the first quarter of 2012 were US$157.7 million, down 18.8% from the first quarter of 2011. Table games drop was $654.5 million, compared to $634.0 million in the year-ago quarter and table games win percentage of 22.8% was within the property’s expected range of 21% to 24% but significantly lower than the 30.4% reported in the 2011 quarter. Slot machine handle of $718.9 million was flat with the comparable period of 2011 and net slot win in Q1 2012 was down 1.1% due to lower hold. LVS Q1 earnings jump 72% on soaring Asia revenue Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS) reported a 72% year-on-year jump in its first-quarter earnings, driven by continued revenue growth from its Asian properties, particularly in Singapore. LVS has seen its earnings soar over the past year on the back of the casino boom in Macau and Singapore, where the Las Vegas- based company generates the bulk of its revenue. LVS reported a profit of US$498.9 million in the first quarter of 2012, up from $289.3 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis that includes the impact of preferred stock dividends awarded a year ago, earnings rose to 61 cents from 28 cents. Excluding pre-opening expenses, development costs and other items, per-share earnings surged to 70 cents from 7 cents in the year- ago quarter. Net revenue, which excludes promotional allowances to attract big gamblers, jumped 31% to US$2.76 billion. At Sands China Ltd, the company’s majority-owned Macau subsidiary, fourth-quarter profit rose 5.8% as revenue from its Plaza casino surged. The company, which listed in Hong Kong in November 2009, posted a profit of US$277.4 million, up from $262.1 million a year earlier, as net revenue rose 25% to $1.45 billion. Net revenue from the company’s Marina Bay Sands property in Singapore surged 45% on higher lodging and casino revenue, pushing its operating earnings up 90%. Unlike Wynn Resorts, which reported a revenue decline at its Las Vegas properties in the first quarter, LVS saw a 26% increase in net revenue at its Vegas operations, almost entirely driven by the improved performance of its casinos there, with a smaller contribution from its convention and retail operations. Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Bright performance—Marina Bay Sands