MGM Resorts Revenue Up 5.7% to $2.6BN in Q4

On Tuesday, MGM Resorts International released its financial figures for the fourth-quarter ending December 31st revealing $2.6 billion in revenue, up by 5.7% compared to the $2.46 billion taken in Q4 of 2016. The company’s earnings then came in at $1.4 billion, with most of that amount accounted for by a huge one-off tax windfall as a result of President Trump’s recent tax reform.
The latest quarterly result also shows the impact that the Las Vegas mass shooting had on MGM’s business, with the tragic incident having occurred on October 1st, marking the beginning of the quarter. That was the day a crazed gunman opened fire on a crowd from his 32nd floor room at the Mandalay Bay, killing 58 people and injuring a further 800 gathered to watch the Route 91 Harvest music festival.
In Q4, the Mandalay Bay subsequently saw its net revenue drop by 6.7% to $185.6 million versus the fourth quarter of 2016, with its occupancy rate falling to 80.5% from 85.8% for the same quarter in the previous year. According to the company, the Mandalay Bay reported a “short-lived uptick in cancellations” directly following the attack, but has since seen its numbers trend upward once more. As Dan Durgio, Executive VP of MGM Resorts explains:
“There’s already a huge amount of recovery within Mandalay that has taken place. But there is still some residual impact.”
Similarly, MGM’s Luxor and Excalibur casino resorts in Las Vegas also experienced revenue declines during Q4, with the former down by 11.6% to $87.9 million, and the latter by 2.7% to $73 million.
Meanwhile, offsetting the company’s Las Vegas decline in Q4 was the MGM Macau which saw its revenue jump by 9.8% to $548.6 million, and the National Harbor, which opened for business in December of 2016, and generated a massive 252.6% more revenue at $186.9 million, year-on-year.
Looking ahead, MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren said that a robust convention calendar and the opening of its $960 million MGM Springfield in Massachusetts by September would contribute to an anticipated strong 2018. Murren also said that MGM was ready to take advantage of legalized sports betting in the US should the country’s Supreme Court side with New Jersey on the issue.