James Packer wants to see greater returns on the billions of dollars going into his Australian casinos and hotels to help them compete with luxury Asian rivals.
The billionaire's Crown Resorts has invested heavily in its Melbourne and Perth operations as big new luxury casino resorts in Asia strive to lure the region's high rollers.
Crown is also planning a luxury hotel and VIP-only casino on the shores of Sydney Harbour and a new six-star hotel and apartment tower adjacent to its Melbourne casino.
About $1.4 billion has been spent on capital projects in Australia over the last four years, and another $3.5 billion is in the pipeline, Mr Packer said.
"But the reality is that we have to get better at achieving acceptable returns on the capex that we spend in Australia," he told Crown's annual general meeting.
"In truth, capex that we've spent hasn't delivered us the return that we've budgeted."
Crown has historically generated good profit growth, though most of that has come from its interests in joint-venture casinos in Macau, Mr Packer said.
"But with Macau now having a pullback, and the Australian business becoming a bigger percentage of our profit, the fact that we haven't achieved the returns that we budgeted to achieve is something that we have to be very realistic about," he said.
Chairman Robert Rankin, who stepped into the role after Mr Packer stood down in August, said Crown needs to execute very well on its development projects to deliver attractive returns.
"In other words, we will be more focused on maximising Crown's net profit after tax for the benefit of all shareholders," he said.
Mr Packer agreed.
"NPAT (net profit after tax) is the number that matters, and NPAT's going to be down this year because Macau hasn't stopped declining," he said.
Crown's Australian operations had generated weaker profit margins than those normally achieved by companies in monopoly markets, such as Sydney Airport and toll road operator Transurban, Mr Packer added.
The downturn in Macau comes as the Melco Crown Entertainment joint venture prepares to open its new Studio City casino in the gambling hub next week.
Authorities have approved only 250 gaming tables for the new facility, when Melco Crown wanted at least 400.
Mr Rankin declined to comment on the cap on Studio City's number of tables.
"But we continue to believe that the Macau government will be supportive and constructive in regard to the operators in that market," he said.
Crown shares were up 41 cents, or 3.54 per cent, at $11.99.
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