Access headaches at new Palace casino leave hefty dent in Wynn Macau’s quarterly earnings

The firm recorded a US$8.6 million loss for the three months ended September 30, compared with a net profit of US$62.1 million for the same period last year.

Adjusted property earnings before interest, tax, and amortisation, a crucial gauge on a gaming operator’s profitability, missed analyst estimates, rising 8 per cent to US$177.0 million for the quarter.

The downbeat figures sent Wynn Macau shares tumbling as much as 4.66 per cent, their biggest drop in more than nine weeks,. They close the morning down 3.99 per cent at HK$11.54.

The underwhelming results, which includes 40 days of operations at Wynn Palace, are in stark contrast to mounting signs of recovery in Macau’s gaming sector, and took analysts by surprise, with many hoping the new site would help lift the recent gloom hanging over the world’s largest gambling hub.

Using carefully crafted language, officials at the company blamed the results on other construction work near the complex hampering the ability of punters to get to the site by bus, car or taxi.

“The ramp-up at Wynn Palace is clearly taking a little longer than we expected,” Matthew Maddox, president of Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts, which owns Wynn Macau, said during a conference call with analysts.