Melco a victim of Macau’s woes

The casino operating situation in Macau impacted the third quarter earnings of Melco Resorts & Entertainment, operator of Altira, City of Dreams and Studio City in the Chinese territory.

Melco, with other casino interests in the Philippines and Europe, said that total operating revenues for the quarter were $241.8m, a fall of 46 per cent from the $446.4m of the same period of last year.

“It was primarily attributable to the government-mandated temporary closure of our casinos in Macau in July and heightened travel restrictions between Macau and mainland China related to Covid-19 during the quarter, that led to softer performance in the rolling chip and mass market table games segments.”

Negative property EBITDA of $34.9m was reported, compared with $31.9m. There was an operating loss in the quarter of $198.5m compared with a loss of $182.2m in the same quarter of last year.

Lawrence Ho, CEO, said: “Following the reopening, the operating environment remained challenging given the continuing tight travel restrictions, but we are encouraged by the recent reopening of Macau to international tourists from designated countries as well as the increase in visitation over the October Golden Week. We are also cautiously optimistic that the granting of e-visas and group visas, which commenced on November 1, 2022, will lead to a gradual increase in visitation.”

Melco has submitted a proposal to the public tender for the new gaming licences and Ho backed the territory’s government in its quest for non-gaming attractions.

The company reported that its Philippines operation was nearing pre-pandemic levels and gaming volumes in Cyprus were above those of pre-Covid times. The City of Dreams in Cyprus will open in the second quarter of 2023.