Wynn Says Macau Unit Losing $2 Million per Day in Q2 with Revenue Down as Much as 97.6 Percent

Posted on: June 12, 2020, 09:46h. 

Last updated on: June 12, 2020, 11:22h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

In a new 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Wynn Resorts confirms its Macau unit continues struggling in the wake of the coronavirus shutdown. It is losing roughly $2 million per day in the first two months of the second quarter.

Wynn Resorts Struggles In Macau
Wynn is still losing money in Macau, but the return of VIPs could change that. (Image: Bloomberg)

Wynn Macau, the holding company for the integrated resort of the same name and the Wynn Palace, says that, based on the financial data it has available as of May 31, it posted revenue of $17.9 million to $19 million in April and May. At the low end, that represents a decline of 97.6 percent from the comparable period in 2019, when the operator generated turnover of $759.7 million in the April 1 through May 31 time frame.

We expect Adjusted Property earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of Wynn Resorts’ Macau Operations to be in the range of ($126.1) million to ($118.8) million for the two months ended May 31, 2020, compared to $215.2 million for the two months ended May 31, 2019,” said the company its SEC filing.

In April and May, Wynn’s Macau venues lost an average of $2 million per day, or $61.2 million a month. For the same two months in 2019, those properties earned an average of $3.5 million daily, or $107.6 million on a monthly basis. Earlier this year, the operator said it was losing $2.4 million to $2.6 million daily in Macau amid a 15-day shutdown of gaming venues there because of COVID-19.

Green Shoots Emerge

Wynn owns five integrated resorts – three in the US and the aforementioned pair in Macau – but the Chinese territory is, by far, the operator’s most important market, accounting for two-thirds or more of its revenue in any given quarter.

Gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the Special Administrative Region (SAR) is tumbling because of travel restrictions implemented at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. But there are some signs of loosening on that front.

“Guangdong Province has eased quarantine requirements for a select group of travelers between Guangdong and Macau, a step in the right direction,” said Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli in a recent report.

Guangdong is pivotal to Macau’s recovery efforts because it has 120 million residents and is the mainland province closest to the gaming center. In what could be added good news for Wynn and other concessionaires on the peninsula, there’s talk of a travel accord with Hong Kong that would ease the quarantine protocols for travelers moving between the two SARs.

Wynn’s “update on Macau travel restrictions as a small, incremental positive, and move toward thawing currently in-place travel restrictions,” said JPMorgan analyst Joseph Greff.

Banking on VIPs

Over the course of the pandemic, consensus among analysts is that high-end gamblers will drive the Macau rebound, which is to Wynn’s benefit, because the bulk of its clientele are considered VIPs or premium mass players.

The operator said that following the 15-day shutdown in Macau in February, its GGR was 25 percent the usual rate and that its daily loss declined to $800,000 due in large part to high rollers and premium mass visitors remaining devoted to Wynn venues.

Wynn Macau said it can break even by reaching 45 percent to 50 percent of its historical GGR run rate. The company has $1.71 billion in cash on hand as of May 31, according to the SEC filing.