Casino operator Trump Entertainment Resorts sees profitability improve in the third quarter of 2006 as the previously bankrupt company attracts more high-end customers, new chief executive James Perry said on Monday.
Perry, who was hired to turn the company around after coming out of bankruptcy in May, said the company started by Donald Trump wanted to have a Las Vegas casino by 2010 and would consider moving abroad. 슬롯머신
But first, the company needs to emerge from a longstanding neglect that has seen maintenance delays at its three Atlantic City properties and management focused on increasing guest counts rather than attracting large consumers. “We’re going to start seeing an improvement in margins and a very good trend in the third quarter,” Perry told the Reuters Hotel and Casino Summit in Los Angeles.
He said the company aims to achieve an industry average profit margin of about 26% by the second half of 2007, up from about 20% in the third quarter in terms of profit margins before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. He said the key to success was attracting customers to cities, improving services and attracting high-end customers for attractions other than gambling.
He was convinced that the company had traditionally been driven by a business model that focused more on volume than quality, which attracted low-cost customers and left them unable to serve customers. Trump Entertainment aims to change its pay structure to compensate employees who focus on cleanliness, as well as capital improvements, for example.
The company said it plans to spend $110 million over the next two years renovating the Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Marina, and Trump Plaza, buildings in the Atlantic city, in addition to a planned hotel tower at the Trump Taj Mahal. Perry said the company will also look for opportunities to leverage the Trump brand internationally, including in Macau, but said it will aim for 2008 or 2010 to get there.
Perry, who has suggested in the past that reorganization efforts could adversely affect sales in the short term, said sales growth should begin to exceed market growth in the second quarter of this year.
He added that Trump had some of the highest game sales costs in the industry, including promotional costs to giveaways and attract customers, and lowering those costs could significantly improve margins. Still, the job remains challenging as Trump Entertainment faces far deeper pocketed rivals in several markets, such as Harrer Entertainment.
Perry said the company will start enjoying stronger profits in March and April, which will improve later on. Presidents Day weekend is traditionally a big revenue-generating weekend for Atlantic City. The race for Atlantic City is also coming up in Pennsylvania, where five parking lots are scheduled to open.
Trump Entertainment has applied for a license to develop a $350 million casino in Philadelphia, but this is just one of several bidders. Perry also said the company wants to make inroads into Las Vegas as soon as it can open a newly built full-service casino resort in the city around 2010. Joint venture projects could come to fruition earlier than that.
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