|
|
Galaxy Net Loss Widens on Casino License Writedown (Update1)
By Kelvin Wong
Sept. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd., the Macau gambling operator part owned by Permira Advisers LLP, posted a wider first-half loss after writing down the value of its casino license.
The company's loss widened to HK$7.43 billion ($955 million), or HK$1.89 a share, from HK$267.8 million, or 8.1 Hong Kong cents a share, a year earlier, it said in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing today. Sales declined to HK$5.39 billion from HK$6.33 billion.
Galaxy, which owns the StarWorld casino in the only Chinese city where casinos are legal, is competing with U.S. operators including Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Wynn Resorts Ltd. The loss included a one-time, non-cash writedown of HK$8.17 billion related to its Macau casino operating license.
``The first half has been a challenging period,'' today's statement said. Galaxy's business ``was impacted by lower than expected gaming volumes as a result of increased competition and increased commission to junkets.''
Excluding the gaming license writedown, the company made an operating loss of HK$385 million, compared with a profit of HK$56.6 million a year earlier.
Junket operators bring VIP gamblers from other parts of China and Southeast Asia in exchange for a cut of the amount they wager. VIPs accounted almost 70 percent of the city's total gambling revenue in the first half.
Macau in 2006 surpassed the Las Vegas Strip as the world's biggest gaming hub. The city may overtake the whole of Nevada and New Jersey combined as early as this year, Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson said last month.
Stock Slump
The number of casinos in Macau has nearly doubled to 31 since the city's government ended billionaire Stanley Ho's 40 year-monopoly of the gambling market in 2002.
Galaxy's shares have lost 66 percent of their value this year, double the drop in the benchmark Hang Seng Index, as investors shunned Macau casino stocks because of increased competition and the Chinese government's new restrictions on mainlanders traveling to Macau.
Mainland gamblers make up about 60 percent of Macau's visitors, with Hong Kong and Taiwan contributing most of the rest, according to government statistics.
Galaxy said it is expecting to open the 2,200-room Galaxy Mega Resort near Macau's Cotai Strip in the third quarter of next year. The company currently operates four City Clubs, VIP-only casinos, in addition to its flagship StarWorld.
Permira Advisers, Europe's biggest buyout firm, bought 20 percent of Galaxy in October, its first Asian investment. The sale helped Galaxy cut its debt by 29 percent and raise cash to complete the Cotai Mega Resort.
Galaxy won't pay an interim dividend. |
|
发表于 2008-9-20 23:29
楼主