Certainly not as bad as the whisper. 'Improving consumer behavior recently' was surprising commentary.
"We continue to focus on maximizing profitability by managing costs, improving our customer relationships via M life and social media outlets such as myVEGAS, as well as exploring growth opportunities in key strategic regions across the U.S. and internationally."
- Jim Murren, MGM Resorts International Chairman and CEO
CONF CALL NOTES
- Observed a pocket of softness in the US consumer starting in May which was reflected in spend particularly in domestic table games, entertainment and in retail
- Also experienced slower in the year for the year convention bookings. Based on these trends, expected RevPAR in 3Q to be down slightly.
- However, the pace for 2013 & 2014 convention bookings is still up and has not been impacted
- They have recently seen a pick up in consumer behavior
- They have grown their market share in tables and slots in LV, a reflection of the success of M Life
- ASCA has a been a great partner so far and they look forward to growing their network
- Morgans will remodel "theHotel" into a Delano
- Focused on customer acquisitions though social gaming
- MGM is actively pursing some opportunities in Toronto, Western MA, and Cotai
- MGM Grand had 67,000 room nights out of service in the quarter, which was more disruptive then they expected
- Believe that they will be able to refinance some of their secured debt at lower rates in the near future
- $102MM of capex ($18MM at MGM China)
- $350MM expected capex in 2012
- 3,300 rooms of MGM Grand rooms have already been renovated and the balance will be completed by September
- Bellagio Spa Tower remodel starting in August and will be completed before year-end holidays at a cost of $40MM
- 3Q guidance:
- Stock comp: $9-10MM
- D&A: $230-235MM
- Interest expense: in-line with 2Q
- CityCenter:
- Aria's 92.7% occupancy. June was the highest occupancy month since opening. Growth in the hotel is occurring in a more profitable cash business.
- Casino table game drop was strong and slot revenues grew 12%. Poker revenues were at a record level
- Early ticket sales to Zharkana have been positive and the show is set to open on Nov 1
- Crystals: operating expenses decreases slightly. One new tenant opened April 18th and Pinkberry will open in August. They were 87% leased at June 30th.
- MGM China:
- Seeing some slowdown in Junket RC growth
- Had their best in-house VIP performance the quarter with volume growing 17% YoY
- Looking to introduce new games to players in the near future
- Butterfly exhbiition increased property visitation by 8%. Attracts 50,000 visitors per month. This had a positive impact on retail, F&B, and mass gaming.
- Working to complete their Level 2 expansion in early 4Q by adding 40 new VIP tables; will introduce new junkets
- Will work on Mass floor renovation next year
- Their dialogue with the Macau government on their Cotai project is proceeding. Submitted application for land prep work and working to have general contractor on board in 4Q
- 500 tables, 2500 slots, 1600 rooms
- $2.5BN spent over 36 months
- Have a strong event calendar for balance of 2012
- For 2013, they will have refreshed room product at MGM Grand and Bellagio, a new show at Aria, and new restaurant concepts
- Expect the new terminal 3 in McCarran will drive international visitation to Vegas - especially from Europe
Q&A
- Pocket of softness seen from mid May to late June (so 5 weeks). Since that time they have seen the booking pace pick up and pricing power improve. Look at it like a blip on the screen. It did impact their bookings in 3Q. Therefore, they expect RevPAR to be down a little YoY in 3Q. However, this has not had any impact on their long-term bookings
- The reason they are not down double digits in 3Q is because they have seen a pick up in leisure travel. They don't have a view on 4Q RevPAR yet. All they see is that consumer trends are better. Their convention mix will be down in the 3Q vs an all-time record last year.
- Their bookings pace is up for 2013
- Have seen spend increase in the mid-single digits at the high end properties. At the lower end of their properties is where they have seen more weakness.
- Mirage held single digits in the quarter so that didn't help them
- MGM Grand: Had low hold and couple with the room disruption it cost them about $13-15MM
- 2Q had the second highest RevPOR in their history
- Had a good quarter in non-gaming categories
- Slot handle was up
- Getting nice increases in ADR and mix is improving. Convention groups love the renovated product.
- Convention booking - seeing double digit increases of rooms on the books for next year. Expect an increase in convention mix next year. They are north of 70% booked for their convention business in 2013, including Aria. Feel even better about 2014.
- Always pruning expenses, but there isn't much to cut. Their goal is to pull out $50MM of expenses per year through better technology usage, efficiency etc.
- FTE's are flat YoY
- How are rates trending on forward contracts? They are getting increases. Their challenge is getting that similar increase in leisure and FIT. Expect mid-single digit increases.
- The opening of Terminal 3 in McCarran opened in June so that should have helped visitation. Expect that to have a continued positive impact on visitation. Expect a record number of visitation in 2012.
- People in China are being more careful in their spending habits which they believe is a short term phenomenon
- Their agreement with the Macau government is for an annual fee in lieu of a dividend tax. Roughly about $3-4MM payment in the quarter that covered all the previous years and the extension is pending approval.
- What % of rooms were out of service at MGM Grand? It's what they expected. Claims that it didn't benefit RevPAR because they already run at 90% - sicne they lose money on the weekends because they sell out.
- In 2Q, there were 63,000 rooms out of service or 2% of total rooms in their portfolio
- Cotai: Key issue is that they have provided the government with everything they need. They have been taking the opportunity for being in a position of lining up construction readiness as they wait for the land.
- During the soft patch, the competitive environment picked up. Now things have moved back to normal.
- Having down RevPAR in 3Q will be a mix of occupancy and rate. Will yield the rooms for maximum cash flow.
- Chinese high-end bacarrat segment: had the largest table drop in their history in 2Q
- Receivables exposure in Macau:
- Receivables: HK$809MM. Have reserved HK$200MM against that.
- Slightly ahead of last year, less than 10% ahead on total receivables outstanding
- The advances to the junkets is about 60% of their receivables. They liquidate that outstanding amount each month.
- The build out of Level 2 is not at the expense of their Mass business. Want to be able to add high quality Tier 2 junket operators. So they are reconfiguring the floor to maximize their VIP yields. They have 427 tables. So they can add some double tables and move some single tables into private junket rooms.
- Is their target of 15.5% convention mix still achievable? They did 14.7% last year and hope to do 15% this year. They are currently pacing in that 14-15% range.
- Where did the pocket of weakness hit hardest?
- There was little impact on gambling but more impact on retail, F&B spend on the "core" properties
- Sustainability of their margins in Macau?
- Still think that mid-to upper 20's margins are achievable
- Managed and Other pick up in the quarter: benefited from a full quarter of the IP fee out of Macau.
- Borgata account: $160MM sits in the trust account
- Dividends out of Macau will be a Board decision
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE RELEASE
- "Casino revenue decreased 1% at the Company's wholly owned domestic resorts, while rooms revenue increased 3% with a 5% increase in REVPAR at the Company's Las Vegas Strip resorts. The overall table games hold percentage in the second quarter of 2012 was 17.7% compared to 18.2% for the prior year second quarter. Slots revenue was flat compared to the prior year quarter."
- MGM China: EBITDA of $187MM (including a $12MM branding expense) on net revenue of $709MM
- Mass drop: +7% YoY
- Slot Handle: +39% YoY
- VIP RC: -6% YoY
- VIP hold: 3.3%
- CityCenter EBITDA: $71MM
- Net revenue from resort operations of $282MM
- Aria table hold: 24% vs 29.2% in 2Q11
- "The estimated effect of the decrease in hold percentage compared to the prior year quarter for net revenue and Adjusted Property EBITDA was $16 million and $13 million, respectively"
- Aria RevPAR: +3% YoY
- 2Q had a "non-cash impairment charge of $85 million related to the Company's joint venture investment in Grand Victoria."
- 2Q "income tax provision was affected by a valuation allowance for a portion of U.S. deferred tax assets and by a net tax benefit resulting from entering into an annual fee arrangement with the Macau government with respect to the complementary tax on dividend distributions of MGM Macau covering the years 2007 through 2011, including the dividend distributed in the first quarter of this year. All taxes previously accrued on MGM Macau dividends distributed in prior quarters were reversed and the cumulative agreed upon annual fee was recorded during the quarter."
- Cash: $1.7BN ($658MM at MGM China)
- Debt: $13.4BN ($1.3BN under the Sr Credit Facility and $553MM related to MGM China)
- "We remain focused on improving our free cash flow and deleveraging our balance sheet. One way we expect to be able to do this is by lowering our cost of capital. We envision an environment in the near future where we will have the opportunity to refinance some of our long-term capital at progressively lower rates"
