CONF CALL
- Visitation from Mainland has continued to grow
- High end players have either less gaming budget or visiting less often
- Do not expect V-shaped recovery in near-term
- 2015 Wage increase: 5% across the board and some loyalty benefits
- 5% of rooms will be out of service in the next couple of years
- On schedule to open Lisboa Palace in 2017. Currently 600 workers there
- 2015 capex: $7.1bn ($5.8bn -construction for Lisboa Palace); will be funded from cash
- Will consider financial options after completion of Lisboa Palace
Q & A
- Staff retention: 3,600 subscribe to bonus accumulation program. Will be $45m/ year
- Dividend payout: 70% in-line with what they have said before
- New Mainland China visitation restriction possibility: both HK and Macau concerned. May address it in upcoming CPCC meeting. Impact may be minimal.
- Grand Lisboa margins: low because of revenue mix and statutory holiday payments
- Why satellite RC volume up? Solid junket operators
- Casino Lisboa: hold rate - 3.26% in 4Q, up from 2.77% in 3Q
- Jan market share: improvement in both vip and mass
- Promotional $ as a % of revenue: 5.9%...want to keep in the 4-5%; have to reinvest in mass business
- February CNY: market fundamentals remain weak but SJM doing better than market