MGM China committed to further Macau investment: Hornbuckle

Hornbuckle’s comments formed part of MGM China’s 2020 Annual Report, published Tuesday, in which he outlined the company’s progress through the latter half of 2020 and into 2021.

That progress included a return to positive EBITDA for both Macau properties – MGM Macau and MGM Cotai – in 4Q20 with MGM China having previously reported group-wide Adjusted EBITDA of HK$367.2 million (US$47.4 million) for the quarter.

Hornbuckle said the company was ready to invest further in Macau in the future. “Macau is our home,” he said. “We are committed to further growth in the region and will continue to invest in our employees, our communities and Macau itself.

“We see 2021 as a year of growth and further success, and we look forward to continuing our work with the Macau Government and our community partners to help the region flourish and emerge stronger than ever.”

Noting that Macau had seen a steady improvement in market-wide GGR in Q4, down by around 70% year-on-year versus a 93% decline in Q3, Hornbuckle said, “We expect that the rate of recovery will continue, driven by the premium mass market visitors whom MGM Macau and MGM Cotai are well-positioned to serve.”

According to Hornbuckle, the rise in Macau’s premium mass segment saw a shift in MGM China’s customer mix in 2020, with mass now comprising 72% of its GGR and VIP just 28% compared with 64% and 36% respectively in 2019. As a result, MGM China saw its overall gaming market share increase from 9.5% in 2019 to 12.6% in 2020.

While the increase in market share is tempered by the fact that revenues have been dramatically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Hornbuckle made note of the fact that the company’s financial position remains strong with total liquidity of HK$9.5 billion (US$1.2 billion) comprised of cash, cash equivalents and undrawn credit facilities as of 31 December 2020.