Wynn Resorts said that its digital business could post a profit by late 2023 after losses for the division were significantly reduced year-on-year during its 2022 financial year.
Launched in 2013, the Wynn Interactive division has a presence in a number of states across the US, but remains loss-making, with figures for 2022 showing the division posted an adjusted property loss before interest, tax, depreciation, amortization, depreciation and rental costs (EBITDAR) of $98.5m.
However, this was significantly lower than $267.4m in the previous year and after it came close to breaking even in the fourth quarter, chief executive Craig Billings said the division could become profitable before the end of 2023.
Speaking on an earnings call, Billings said the upcoming launch of online gambling in the state of Massachusetts will help drive growth in Wynn Interactive as it seeks to inflect to profit.
“The most significant upcoming launch is Massachusetts, where obviously, we have Encore Boston Harbor, and I would hope and expect that we will have a reasonable market share because of the presence of that property as our competitors have in other markets,” Billings said.
“We are driving the business as hard as we can while being prudent. I would expect some point of inflection in late 2023, depending upon how much money, good user acquisition we do in Massachusetts, but we have the burn at this point, really, really well under control.”
Looking at the full results for Wynn Resorts in 2022, operating revenue was marginally down by 0.2% to $3.76bn
Breaking this down, revenue from the core Las Vegas business increased 41.8% to $2.13bn, while Encore Boston Habor revenue was also up 20.2% to $831.1m. However, the operator said Wynn Palace revenue declined 53.5% to $410.3m, while Wynn Macau revenue also fell 50.3% to $311.2m.
In terms of revenue sources, casino contributed $1.63bn to the yearly total, down 23.4% on the previous year. However, rooms revenue jumped 35.2% to $802.1m, food and beverage revenue climbed 38.4% to $876.2m and entertainment, retail and other revenue was up 17.8% to $475.9m.
Turning to costs and operating expenses were 7.2% lower at $3.86bn, with financial costs at $599.4m, down 2.9% year-on-year.
While this left a pre-tax loss of $700.0m, this was down from the $1.01bn loss posted at the end of 2021. Wynn paid $9.3m in income tax, leaving a total loss of $709.4m, compared to $1.01m in the previous year.
However, when noting $285.5m of this loss was attributable to non-controlling interests, this mean net loss attributable to Wynn was $423.9m, an improvement on $755.8m in 2021.
In addition, adjusted property EBITDAR for the entire business was positive $725.4m, up 27.4% on the previous year.
“These impressive results are a testament to our team’s relentless focus on delivering five-star hospitality, which continues to elevate our properties above our peers as the destinations of choice for luxury guests in both Las Vegas and Massachusetts,” Billings said.
“In Macau, we were honored to be awarded with a new 10-year gaming concession during the quarter and were pleased to experience a meaningful return of visitation and demand during the recent Chinese New Year holiday period.
“We believe we are well-positioned for success in Macau’s next phase of growth.”