While it was never going to be easy to follow in his fathers foot steps, James Packer has shown some real business acumen with his joint venture in the casino capital, Macau. Melco PBL recently reported a profit of $43 million for the first three months of the year compared with a loss of $27 million for the same period last year. Packer pushed through a controversial increase in commissions for junket operator A-Max which saw a massive increase in customer numbers to the Crown Macau.
Even though the figures released were less than analysts had forecast they do reflect a decent performance in what is becoming a difficult market. Melco PBL is currently in the process of developing the City of Dreams in Macau, a $2.5 billion casino venture which should hopefully come on line just as the sector starts to pick up. The company also has other ventures in the pipeline but none in the same league as the City of Dreams.
James Packer has obviously inherited a lot of his father’s talent for business and while conditions are difficult he has shown the ability to move with the times and take difficult decisions. The ability to read markets like this could also be associated with a top class Poker player reading his opponents!
While it was never going to be easy to follow in his fathers foot steps, James Packer has shown some real business acumen with his joint venture in the casino capital, Macau. Melco PBL recently reported a profit of $43 million for the first three months of the year compared with a loss of $27 million for the same period last year. Packer pushed through a controversial increase in commissions for junket operator A-Max which saw a massive increase in customer numbers to the Crown Macau.