Melco Resorts & Entertainment reported a group-wide 16% increase in operating revenues to US$1.44 billion for the three months to 30 September 2019, driven by strong growth at flagship Macau integrated resort City of Dreams.
The quarter saw Melco reach all-time highs in both mass market table drop and gaming machine handle, with Macau market share gains in both mass and VIP.
According to Bernstein analysts, the company gained 650 bps in VIP and 90 bps in mass year-on-year, helping Melco’s group-wide Adjusted EBITDA grow 39% for the period to US$418.2 million.
Buoyed by the ramp of luxury hotel tower Morpheus, City of Dreams saw its 3Q19 revenue grow 31.0% to US$787.3 million and Adjusted EBITDA by 58.4% to US$233 million thanks to strong performance across the board.
Rolling chip volume reached US$17.2 billion versus US$12.3 billion in the same period last year, with mass market table drop rising 5.2% to US$1.41 billion. Both segments also benefited from a higher win rate.
Gaming machine handle increased 8.0% to US$1.21 billion while non-gaming revenue rose 5.4% to US$104.2 million.
At the southern end of the Cotai Strip, Studio City reported a slight decline in operating revenues to US$337.7 million – impacted by lower VIP rolling chip and hold – although Adjusted EBITDA grew 19.0% to US$106.4 million.
Studio City’s rolling chip volume fell 45.6% to US$2.77 billion in 3Q19 with win rate down considerably from 3.12% in the same period last year to 2.71% this time around.
Mass market table games drop increased 9.0% to US$880.6 million while gaming machine handle also grew 10.8% to US$711.2 million.
Altira Macau’s revenue for the quarter increased from US$90.2 million in 3Q18 to US$113.9 million on the back of a very high VIP win rate, which made amends for a 26.1% decline in rolling chip volume to US$4.05 billion. Mass market table drop increased 17.9% to US$154.2 million while gaming machine handle more than doubled to US$79.4 million.
In the Philippines City of Dreams Manila saw a 7.9% decline in operating revenues to US$130.5 million with Adjusted EBITDA down from US$55.2 million to US$49.9 million in 3Q19.
Melco cited increased competition in Entertainment City for an 18.1% fall in rolling chip volume to US$2.44 billion, while win rate was well down at just 0.89%. That compares with a win rate of 2.67% in 3Q18 and an expected win rate range of 2.85% to 3.15%.
Mass market drop fell very slightly to US$202.1 million with gaming machine handle up slightly to US$1.02 billion.
Melco also reported results from Cyprus for the first time, with operating revenues of US$26.7 million and Adjusted EBITDA of US$8.5 million.
