Melco Resorts & Entertainment fell to its 10th consecutive quarter of substantial loss in the three months to 30 June 2022, with strong recovery at City of Dreams Manila not enough to cover for ongoing weakness in Macau.
The global casino operator reported net loss of US$251.5 million, wider than both the US$185.7 million loss in the same period last year and the US$183.3 million loss in the March quarter.
This was on the back of a 48% year-on-year decline in group-wide operating revenues to US$296.1 million, with Adjusted EBITDA of US$13.8 million versus US$79.1 million in 2Q21 and US$56.0 million in 1Q22.
In Macau, City of Dreams saw operating revenues plummet 72.0% to US$97.3 million, with an Adjusted EBITDA loss of US$28.5 million, while Studio City reported a 65.6% decline in revenues to US$35.9 million and Adjusted EBITDA loss of US$31.1 million.
Likewise, operating revenues at Altira Macau more than halved to US$7.2 million with Adjusted EBITDA loss of US$11.3 million.
“Mocha and Other”, which now includes both Mocha Clubs and satellite casino Grand Dragon, recorded operating revenues of US$17 million compared to US$24.1 million in 2Q21, generating Adjusted EBITDA of US$2.5 million.
By contrast, City of Dreams Manila roared back to life, with total operating revenues up 112% year-on-year and 28.5% quarter-on-quarter to US$111.7 million. Adjusted EBITDA of US$49.0 million compared with US$13.3 million in the same period last year with the year-over-year improvement primarily a result of the relaxation of COVID-19 related restrictions in Manila.
Rolling chip volume at City of Dreams Manila climbed by 184% to US$771.3 million and mass market table games drop by 157% to US$178.4 million, while gaming machine handle more than doubled from US$401.0 million in 2Q21 to US$925.6 million.
And in Cyprus, operating revenues also doubled year-on-year to US$21.7 million, with Adjusted EBITDA of US$5.6 million.
“It goes without saying that our results for the second quarter of 2022 were heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions imposed across mainland China and Macau,” said Melco Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho.
However, “In contrast to the challenges we have been facing in Macau, our businesses in the Philippines and Cyprus have been improving with volumes gradually recovering toward pre-COVID levels.
“City of Dreams Manila has been operating at 100% capacity since March 1, 2022 and saw a fairly quick recovery in domestic business. International visitation continues to ramp up, and we expect to see further growth as more of the travel restrictions around Asia are lifted and travel returns to normal. Cyprus also saw a pick-up in volumes and profitability with a relaxation in COVID-19 related restrictions.”
