The relative business slowdown in Macau may have cut into some casinos’ recent revenues, but one operator seems to have weathered the storm in even better shape than ever before. Galaxy Entertainment announced improved business for its first year of operations that not only beat expectations, but completely blew them out of the water after it posted a nine-fold increase in its first-half net profit.
In the first six months of 2012, Galaxy Entertainment posted a net profit of HK$3.5 billion. Compare that to the HK$378.3 million the company earned in the same time frame last year and it’s easy to understand why Galaxy is jumping through hoops with their casino’s extremely impressive performance in the first half of the year.
“I am delighted to report another set of strong results based on years of commitment and hard work from everyone in the Galaxy family,” said Dr. Lui Che-woo, Chairman of GEG. “The handsome returns achieved over many years are being reinvested wisely in the business to sustain long-term growth and enable GEG to deliver on its vision to become ‘globally recognised as Asia’s leading gaming and entertainment corporation’.”
Analysts from Reuters point to a mixed influx of both casual and VIP gamblers that have aided the company in handsomely improving its net revenue. According to the news site, Galaxy Entertainment benefited from a 36 percent growth in revenue from casual gamblers and a 15 percent growth in revenues from the more high-profile VIP gamblers.
In a report by Reuters, Galaxy CEO Francis Liu told reporters that despite the economic downturn in the gambling town, Galaxy is well positioned, at least more so than the competition, to benefit from the high volume of human traffic in the glitzy Cotai Strip. Even better, the company is forecasting its revenue growth rate to improve in the second half of 2012. Quite a lofty goal, but seeing as how they managed to blitz their way to an impressive net revenue boost, one that’s certainly not out of the question.
Galaxy Entertainment’s increasingly growing profile in Macau has allowed it to not only take advantage of the rising gambling revenues, but in the short span that it has been around, the company is also expected to benefit from having the biggest property in the Cotai Strip.
The company’s outstanding revenues has given Galaxy a prime opportunity to roll over that money on a $2 billion investment to build the second phase – currently underway, by the way – of what’s becoming a gigantic Galaxy Macau resort, one that will double the resort’s size to include, among other things, Ritz Carlton and JW Marriott hotels, a slew of new shopping stores and restaurants, and the addition of 500 extra gambling tables.
