Hold adjusted in-line with us but nicely above the Street. Dividend policy a plus
CONF CALL
- Premium mass will continue to be supported by infrastructure developments
- 4Q luck-adjusted property EBITDA margin increased 400bps YoY to 28.6%
- CoD Manila: will open around mid-2014
- New dividend policy: distribute 30% of net income
- Macau still underpenetrated
- Record CNY: remarkable strength in mass market segment
- 4Q luck-adjusted (2.85% hold) property EBITDA: $380MM (+36% YoY, +12% QoQ)
- Mass EBITDA: 75% of luck-adjusted EBITDA at CoD and 70% on group-wide basis
- 1Q guidance
- D&A: 95-100MM
- Corp expense: 24-26MM
- Consolidated net interest epxense ; 31-33MM ($11MM CoD Manila, $17 Studio City, net of $18MM cap interest for CoD Manila/Studio City)
Q & A
- Not surprised with January's slowness due to before CNY period
- Need to look Jan and February together to get a sense of business trends
- Tax situation in Phillippines: working with PAGCOR
- 2nd wk of CNY: very strong; some VIPs customers coming this week and weekend; pattern repeating from last year
- 4Q High mass hold: combination of service and floor strategy, putting more premium tables which is sustaining the high hold; high hold is sustainable
- Will continue to move tables from Altira to CoD
- Mass win per table: is there a threshold? No.
- CoD: creating a new high-end slot area on ground floor, new F&B experience on 2nd floor (also potentially more gaming machines) --projects may be completed in mid-2014
- Total capex for both projects: $30MM
- Japan: open-minded to opportunities
- Altira EBITDA per table low compared with Starworld: VIP EBITDA per table is on par with the market
- CoD opex: not concerned; bonus provision for 4Q was modestly higher than in previous quarters
- CoD direct VIP: did not hold well
- CoD 5th Tower: PR event in 2Q will unveil budget and features
- MSC: will be the only stand-alone property to open on Cotai; on schedule, on budget