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Melco Intl profit up 154.1 percent


Melco International Development posted a three-fold increase in profit in the first half of 2018, attributed mainly to better group-wide gaming performance, recovery of previously provided doubtful debt, and lower finance costs.

According to a filing from Melco to HKEx, profit before tax reached HK$1.1 billion, up from HK$0.4 billion in the prior year period.

Revenue reached HK$19.8 billion, down 1.6 percent year-on-year. Melco said despite better performance in gaming segments, this was offset by higher commissions, which, under its new revenue reporting standard is counted as a reduction of revenue.

Adjusted EBITDA on the other hand, grew 16.7 percent to HK$5.5 billion.

Speaking about future plans, Lawrence Ho, group chairman and CEO of Melco International said: “Our long-term growth strategy for Macau remains to focus on the premium-mass and mass segments, which we believe will drive sustainable growth and profit for our industry. We will continue to invest in balancing our exposure to both VIP and mass gaming patrons and to further grow a diversified portfolio to attract the broader tourism market through our world-class non-gaming entertainment and leisure offers.”

The company is also set to continue its expansion beyond Macau, with the development of City of Dreams Mediterranean in Cyprus.

Set to open in 2021, City of Dreams Mediterranean will become the first integrated resort in Cyprus and Europe’s largest and premier integrated destination resort. The five-star resort will elevate Cyprus to a leadership role for leisure and business travel in the region and internationally. Also on the horizon are three Cyprus Casinos (C2) satellite casinos scheduled to commence operations in Nicosia, Larnaca and Paphos during 2018, while the satellite casino in free Famagousta is scheduled to commence operations in the spring of 2019.

The company has also been ramping up its presence in Japan, following the establishment of a Japanese subsidiary, opening an office in Tokyo and appointing a local leadership team in 2017, the Group has opened an Osaka office in the first half of 2018 and is now fully engaged to build a strong consortium to support business development efforts, said the company.

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