Wynn Resorts CEO Craig Billings said the group may pursue integrated resort (IR) casino opportunities in Thailand after the country this week moved closer to regulation, while he also outlined progress on its United Arab Emirates (UAE) resort during Q2.
Speaking in a post-Q2 earnings call, Billings responded positively to a question about Wynn moving into Thailand. This week, the country’s government published draft rules for legal casinos in the country.
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Wynn CEO discusses Thai opportunity
UAE update: Al Marjan progress, customers and licensing
Record EBITDAR in Q2
Strong bottom line in H1
Wynn eyes up Bangkok?
Billings previously spoke about Wynn’s interest in Thailand after its Q1 results earlier this year. However, with a legal market edging closer, Wynn is already “active” on the ground in Thailand Billings said, mentioning Bangkok as a potential location.
“Yes, we would pursue it out of Wynn Resorts out of the US-listed entity,” Billings said on the call. “It’s still early days but there has been progress and it’s encouraging to see and it seems as though the legislators in Thailand really want to get this moving, which is great.”
The operator needs more details on the regulatory and licensing structures he said, although the market remains very attractive.
“You have amazing tourism infrastructure, a really strong service culture and a favourable operating expense structure available in that market. So, we’re continuing to monitor the process very, very closely and we’re active on the ground there.”
Wynn building for exciting future in UAE
Elsewhere and Billings also spoke about the progress Wynn made on its IR project in the UAE during Q2.
Due to open in early 2027, Wynn Al Marjan Island will be located in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. It is set to cost approximately $3.9bn (£3.1bn/€3.6bn) and will be the first IR in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
New images and renderings for the project were released in May, while Billings revealed he recently spent several weeks in the region, saying construction is progressing “rapidly”.
“The building now stands just over 90 metres, which is already the tallest building in the Emirate,” he said. “During Q2, we contributed $357m of equity to our UAE joint venture. This included the purchase of our 40% pro rata share of all 155 acres of Island 3, the island on which Wynn Al Marjan sits.
“As a result, our joint venture now owns not only the land under Wynn Al Marjan, but also 70-plus acres of land for potential future development on the Island.”
The UAE also offered access to an international customer base, Billings continued. Europe would be an important market for the Wynn Al Marjan Island, although he also highlighted India as key.
“India is a huge market for this part of the world,” Billings said. “There are a lot of folks there. There’s a lot of wealth in India and that’s going to be an important market. There are other parts of Asia that are big markets for the UAE as well.
“I think the catchment area is probably larger than any other project that we have done, maybe akin to Vegas if you take into account the fact that Europe’s population is pretty substantial and the international airlift is incredibly strong.”
No progress on Wynn’s UAE licence
Billings went on to reiterate that the UAE is the most exciting new market for the gambling industry in decades. This has been helped by the creation of the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) as the federal regulator for the market he said.
He referenced last week’s news that GCGRA selected The Game LLC to run the UAE’s first national lottery. Billings said this will hopefully offer more “comfort” in regards to more progress in the UAE.
However, there was no progress on Wynn’s licence for the Ras Al-Khaimah.
“I assume that they will be moving forward to the next step in our licensure,” Billings said. “I don’t have a specific timeline for you, but you can see all the momentum that’s happening there.”
Revenue growth in Q2
Turning now to how Wynn performed during Q2, group revenue for the three months to 30 June hit $1.73bn. This is 8.6% more than in the same period last year.
Casino revenue hit $1.01bn, with rooms revenue at $304.5m, food and beverage $281.4m and entertainment, retail and other $138.1m. The latter was the only area to see revenue fall year-on-year.
Breaking down revenue by segment, operations in Macau – spanning Wynn Palace and Wynn Macau – drew the most revenue. Wynn Palace saw revenue increase 17.0% to $548.0m, with table games win percentage at 23.6% and VIP table games 4.1%.
As for Wynn Macau, revenue climbed 11.8% to $337.3m. Here, table games win percentage in mass market operations was 17.5% and VIP table games 2.2% – both lower year-on-year.
Turning to the US and Las Vegas operations drew $628.7m in revenue, a rise of 8.8%. Table games win percentage hit 21.9%, slightly below expectations and lower than 22.9% last year.
However revenue at Encore Harbor in Boston slipped 4.2% to $212.6m. Table games win percentage met expectations at 19.6%, although this was behind the previous year.
Record EBITDAR for Wynn in Q2
In terms of costs, total operating expenses were 8.8% higher at $1.46bn. However, revenue growth still meant operating profit in Q2 climbed 7.8% to $269.7m.
Wynn also noted $115.5m in non-operating costs, leaving a pre-tax profit of $154.2m, a rise of 17.0%. It paid $7.9m and discounted $34.3m in profit from non-controlling interests.
As such, it ended Q2 with a net profit of $111.9m, up 6.4%. In addition, adjusted property EBITDAR increased 9.0% to $571.7m, a new Q2 record for Wynn.
“Our second quarter results, including a new second quarter record for adjusted property EBITDAR, reflect continued strength throughout our business,” Billings said. “I am incredibly proud of our teams in Las Vegas, Macau and Boston.”
H1 revenue up 19.1%
Looking at H1 as a whole, group revenue increased 19.1% to $3.60bn. Casino accounted for $2.13bn of this, with Wynn seeing growth in all areas, with the exception of entertainment, retail and other.
Operating costs jumped 14.0% to $2.96bn, with operating profit at $632.6m, up by 50.7%. Wynn also noted $281.9m in non-operating costs, leaving a pre-tax profit of $350.7m, a rise of 161.1%.
The group paid $27.9m in tax and took off $66.6m in profit from non-controlling interests. This meant it ended H1 with a $256.2m net profit, up 118.0%. In addition, adjusted property EBITDAR jumped 27.6% to $1.22bn.
