to offset some of the weakness<\/a> at their venues in the Chinese territory.<\/strong><\/p>\nAs the largest operator on the Strip and the company behind eight regional gaming destinations, MGM checks those boxes.<\/p>\n
\u201cDomestic gaming has fully recovered to 2019 levels in regional markets, and Las Vegas continues to exhibit strong domestic gaming demand and visitation trends,\u201d adds Fitch. \u201cThe strong performance in Las Vegas, both slots and table games, is offset by the still- recovering international and convention segments, although the latter will come back more in earnest in second half 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n
The research firm estimates MGM\u2019s regional casinos will modestly surpass 2019 levels this year, with Las Vegas fully recovering in 2023.<\/p>\n
MGM Financial Flexibility<\/h2>\n
At the end of the first quarter, MGM had $2.9 billion in cash (including restricted cash) and $1.6 billion in revolver availability, while MGM China had $288 million in cash and $1.3 billion in revolver availability.<\/p>\n
Fitch credits the gaming opportunity for possessing a favorable asset mix and a series of transactions that raised capital. But the ratings agency also points out the operator created significant long-term lease debt by selling essentially all of its meaningful property assets.<\/p>\n
MGM \u201ccreated $4.3 billion of lease-equivalent debt in the process. The CityCenter & Cosmopolitan transactions in 2021 also created another $3.3 billion in lease-equivalent debt,\u201d <\/strong>said the research firm.<\/p>\nThe recently completed sale<\/a> of MGM Growth Properties to VICI Properties (NYSE:VICI) generates $4 billion in proceeds for MGM that can be used to pare debt. Fitch sees MGM\u2019s gross adjusted leverage heading below 6x next year, putting it on pace to reach management\u2019s stated goal of gross adjusted leverage of 4x to 5x.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) still faces regulatory uncertainty in Macau, and that\u2019s prompting Fitch Ratings to maintain a \u201cnegative\u201d rating watch on the casino operator. The research firm also pulled its credit rating on the gaming company. MGM owns about 56% of MGM China, which controls two integrated resorts in the world\u2019s largest casino hub. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":213272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69069,10],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Macau Weighs On MGM Credit Profile, Says Fitch Ratings<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n