City of Dreams Manila records second-quarter loss of almost $50 million

Asian casino and entertainments giant Melco International Development Limited has reportedly announced that its City of Dreams Manila facility racked up a second-quarter loss of nearly $50 million due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a Sunday report from Inside Asian Gaming, the Hong Kong-listed firm is responsible for the 938-room Manila property through its Melco Resorts and Entertainment (Philippines) Corporation subordinate and saw the enterprise record an overall deficit of $49.52 million for the three months to the end of June.

Contagion consequences:

The recent shortfall compares with a profit of $23.42 million for the same three-month period last year and came as City of Dreams Manila chalked up a comparable 96.1% decline in gross gaming revenues to slightly over $5.98 million. The source detailed that casinos across Manila have been shuttered since March 15 owing to the coronavirus pandemic with Melco International Development Limited purportedly blaming the second-quarter downturn on the ‘temporary closure of business and imposition of prohibition measures’ the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCor) brought in to help stop the spread of the potentially-lethal ailment.

Gaming glut:

Melco International Development Limited reportedly moreover revealed that City of Dreams Manila saw its second-quarter rolling chip volume plunge by over 92.6% year-on-year to approximately $149.97 million off of an associated win rate that was 1.83% lower at 3.38%. The operator furthermore purportedly explained that the giant Philippines property’s quarterly mass-market table games drop plummeted by 96% year-on-year to around $8.21 million as its slot handle decreased by about the same percentage to $30.81 million.

Takings tumble:

To make matters worse, it was furthermore reported that the three hotels inside City of Dreams Manila saw their own second-quarter revenues deteriorate by 92.6% year-on-year to just $1.21 million as a PAGCor-sanctioned dry run of the facility’s hospitality and gaming operations came to an end on August 3 owing to a local spike in the rate of coronavirus infections.