Sin City propelled MGM’s third-quarter earnings, but Macau contributed to a $1 billion deficit.
MGM announced record income in Las Vegas, with its third-quarter earnings rising year-on-year, but a $1 billion amortization charge linked to its Macau license resulted in a loss for the operator.
Las Vegas fueled MGM’s third-quarter earnings growth, but Macau amortization led to a $1 billion loss.
Net income rose 26.2% to $3.14 billion.
Much of that came from Sin City, which reached $2.3 billion, a 66.6% increase year-on-year, a record high. Unlike 2021, room income in Las Vegas surpassed gaming income.
“We are pleased to report one of the best quarters in the history of our Las Vegas Strip, both in terms of income and adjusted property EBITDAR, driven by the continued strength of our entertainment and convention offerings,” said Bill Hornbuckle, CEO and president of MGM Resorts.
MGM’s regional operations generated another $973.9 million in income, up 5.2% year-on-year.
On the other hand, MGM China’s income fell sharply to $87.5 million, down 69.8% from the third quarter of 2021, which was already affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This quarter, Macau implemented a lockdown, closing all gaming venues after a local outbreak.
MGM earned another $53.6 million in corporate and other income.
Costs increased significantly this quarter to $4.44 billion, but primarily due to non-operating reasons. The company paid $1.
Overall administrative and managerial costs climbed to twenty-one billion dollars, a rise of almost fifty percent, mainly due to increased lease payments for numerous MGM properties, many of which were transferred to real estate investment trusts in recent years.
Casino income rose slightly to six hundred fifty-three point six million dollars, lodging revenue increased to two hundred fifty-six point one million dollars, and food and beverage revenue expanded by seventy-five point two percent to five hundred twenty-nine million dollars.
**Macau Amortization**
However, the most significant expense was due to depreciation. The enterprise recorded over one billion dollars in depreciation expense because of the expiration of its Macau sub-concession at the end of this year.
In early two thousand thirteen, the operator secured the right to utilize a piece of land in Macau’s Cotai district until two thousand thirty-eight. Consequently, it depreciated its Macau sub-concession over the period until two thousand thirty-eight, assuming it could continue to operate in Macau at least until that date.
However, with the implementation of the new gaming law in Macau, which maintained the same number of operators but only provided for a primary concession instead of permitting sub-concessions, the operator decided to alter this practice. Therefore, the “useful life” of the sub-concession and land use rights was changed to only last until the end of this year.
As a result, the company essentially recognized sixteen years of depreciation in one go, resulting in a substantial expense.
“We had been depreciating that intangible asset over the period two thousand thirty-one to two thousand thirty-eight,” stated Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Halkyard.
Following the enactment of the legislation in June, we collaborated with Deloitte and determined that this would constitute a novel allowance, which we will commence implementing subsequent to December.
The existing intangible asset-based allowance necessitates amortization by the conclusion of this year.
Moreover, the enterprise reported a $1.6 billion gain stemming from the disposal of its CityCenter property during the third trimester of 2021, which was likewise incorporated into the negative expenditures and influenced the year-on-year comparison.
After subtracting these expenditures, and subsequent to a $17.5 million loss originating from its non-consolidated subsidiaries, encompassing its joint venture BetMGM with Entain, MGM incurred an operating loss of $1.05 billion in the third trimester. This stands in stark contrast to the operating profit of $1.89 billion during the equivalent period of the preceding year.
Excluding these exceptional costs, EBITDAR amounted to $1.1 billion, representing a 23.4% increase.
Interest and taxes resulted in the company ultimately incurring a loss of $1.06 billion, in comparison to a profit of $1.34 billion during the corresponding period of the preceding year.
During the trimester, MGM also finalized the acquisition of European online operator LeoVegas. MGM acquired LeoVegas for SEK 61.00 per share, culminating in a total transaction value of $604 million.
Upon announcing the acquisition offer, MGM asserted that it would facilitate its business in expanding its online operations to markets situated outside North America, such as Europe, where BetMGM conducts operations.
Sign up for the iGaming News Newsletter.