In the final quarter of 2019, casino operator Wynn Resorts lost almost $73m and Macau’s casino closure is burning $2.5m each day off the company’s books.
Wynn reported on Thursday, that in the final three months of 2019, its revenue hit $1.65b, a 2% drop from Q4 2018. The company reported a net loss of $72.9m as opposed to a $465m profit a year earlier, although the 2018 profit got an indirect $391m boost from Donald Trump’s tax cuts.
As informed by calvinayre.com, for 2019 overall, revenue decreased a modest 1.5% to $6.6b; however, net income jumped 78.5% to $123m, again, echoing the wind assist the prior year’s results got from Trump’s tax giveaway.
The Wynn Palace casino in Macau, reported Q4 revenue dropping one-fifth to $590m and earnings falling 21.6% to $177.6m. VIP gambling income dropped 42.4% and VIP revenue declined 45.5% to $286.3m. Mass market table win achieved a 2.6% increase to $315.4m while slots put in $53.1m.
The recent Wynn Macau property did better, with revenue dropping 5.1% to $525.4m while earnings creeping up 1.5% to $170m. Also, here, the same segment dynamics were at play, with VIP win falling 28.8% to $259.7m while mass table win increasing 10.7% to $283.2m.
In the US, Wynn’s Las Vegas operations reported revenue declining 23.8% to $368.8m, mostly due to sinking gaming revenue, apparently due to a lack of Asian VIPs coming over. Vegas incomes decreased almost one-quarter to $80.1m.
The new Encore Boston Harbor In Massachusetts put in revenue of $169.3m, of which $116m was from gaming, while incomes came in at $15.2m. The property’s hotel rooms reported an unsatisfactory 76% occupancy rate.
CORONAVIRUS ADVERSE EFFECT
Wynn CEO Matt Maddox while speaking on the analyst call, was frank about the situation in Macau, saying the 15-day casino shutdown imposed by the local government to stop further spread of the coronavirus was causing the company a loss of $2.4m to $2.6m per day, mainly in payroll expenses.
Maddox was unwilling to predict whether the closure might extend past its stated end date, nor when operations in Macau might be back to normal. However, Maddox said Macau was “set up for a really great rebound,” so the company could be hopeful about Macau’s “long-term aspects.”
Maddox informed several Wynn’s Asian VIPs who’d traveled to Vegas for last month’s Lunar New Year festivities are now essentially stuck there because of China’s travel restrictions. Maddox said that now these VIPs were “travelling from one location to another location,” and though they may visit other Vegas casinos, “we expect them to come back as they continue to play.”
