GGRAsia – Melco International net profit slips 88 pct in first half

Melco International net profit slips 88 pct in first half

Sep 01, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck

Casino investor Melco International Development Ltd posted a net profit of HKD111.1 million (US$14.3 million) for the six months to June 30, down 87.8 percent from a year earlier. The firm, chaired by Lawrence Ho Yau Lung (pictured), gave the news in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday.

The company recorded revenue of HKD212.6 million for the period, up by 137.4 percent from the prior-year period. Its share of profits from associates however fell 79.1 percent year-on-year to HKD220.4 million in the first half of 2015, from HKD1.1 billion a year ago.

The board has recommended the payment of an interim dividend of HKD0.015 per share, approximately equal to HKD23.2 million, down from HKD0.116 cents per share, or HKD181.2 million, a year earlier.

The company has a joint venture – via Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd – in the Macau and Philippines casino markets with Australia’s Crown Resorts Ltd. Melco International had a 34.29 percent stake in Melco Crown as of June 30, said Monday’s filing.

Net revenue for Melco Crown amounted to US$1.97 billion in the first half of 2015, representing a decrease of 22.9 percent year-on-year.

“The decrease was primarily attributable to lower group-wide rolling chip revenues and mass market table games revenues in Macau, partially offset by the net revenue generated by City of Dreams Manila, which started operations in December 2014,” Melco International said, referring to Melco Crown’s performance.

The latter firm saw net income for the second quarter of 2015 fall 83 percent year-on-year.

Melco International also has a separate investment in casino equipment maker Entertainment Gaming Asia Inc (EGT), and supplies technology to the mainland China lottery market via another subsidiary, MelcoLot Ltd.

EGT reported a profit of US$1.5 million in the second quarter of 2015, compared to a loss of US$22,000 in the year-earlier period. For the first half of the year, it recorded consolidated revenue of US$15.9 million, up approximately 65.2 percent year-on-year “due to increases in both its gaming chip and plaque sales and gaming operations revenue,” the parent company said.

In Monday’s filing, Melco International said it is “actively evaluating development opportunities and expanding its property portfolio beyond Asia”.

MelcoLot is planning to establish a boutique casino project in Tbilisi, Georgia, and is seeking – via a subsidiary – to become an investor in a casino resort project in Spain, near to Barcelona. Last month, MelcoLot said it expects a second-phase public tender for a casino resort near Barcelona to start “shortly”.