Wynn delays opening of $4.1b Cotai resort

Wednesday 18th of November 2015

Wynn Resorts said it has delayed the opening of its $4.1 billion Wynn Palace resort on Cotai by three months.

The operator said it had been notified by its general contractor, Leighton Holdings. that the project would not be ready by the March 25th early completion date. The new opening date has been set at June 25th.

The announcement sent shares of Wynn Resorts down as much as 6 percent to session low of $57.66 before the stock price rallied.

Despite the share price drop, Sterne Agee said news of the delay should not have been a major surprise to investors, as speculation that the project was behind schedule had been circulating for some time, based on eyeing on-the-ground construction progress.

“Our conversations with the company indicate the delayed opening timeline was not instigated by Wynn and not related to market conditions, table allocations, labor issues or otherwise – solely a delay in construction completion by Leighton,” it said, adding it wasn’t clear whether Wynn would receive any financial compensation.

While a significant opening catalyst is delayed 3 months, many investors are unlikely to be overly punitive given current Macau market trends and the overall financial impact to CY15 estimates from the delay, it said.

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