MelcoLot losses widen in 3Q on share option grant

Nov 07, 2014 Newsdesk Industry Talk, Latest News  

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Lottery supplier MelcoLot Ltd saw its net losses jump to HKD37.4 million (US$4.8 million) in the three months ended September 30 compared to HKD9.9 million in the prior-year period.

The firm, listed on the Growth Enterprise Market of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, recorded a 5 percent rise in quarterly revenue judged year-on-year, to HKD11.8 million, it said in a filing on Thursday. Employee benefits costs rose by almost 370 percent, to HKD38.7 million, mainly due to a share option grant exercise in August benefiting Macau casino investor Lawrence Ho Yau Lung (pictured) and seven directors.

MelcoLot supplies lottery terminals and related products to the two state-run lottery operators in mainland China. Melco International Development Ltd, headed by Mr Ho, controls the company. Greece-based lottery supplier Intralot SA is also a substantial shareholder in MelcoLot.

For the nine-month period ended September 30, MelcoLot’s total revenue was HKD34.4 million, representing a year-on-year drop of 20 percent due to a decrease in sales of lottery terminals and hardware. “The group adopted a low pricing strategy in order to maintain market share in the face of slow demand,” it stated.

In August, MelcoLot confirmed it had submitted a bid to Spanish authorities to operate a casino in Barcelona.

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