Temporary new name: The Countdown
Melco International Development Ltd. has seen a big boost in profits thanks in part to the recovery in Macau.
In a recent filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company reported a net profit of HKD10.37 billion (US$1.33 billion) for full-year 2016, compared to HKD100.9 million in the previous year.
The company attributed the strong profit to Macau’s recovery from a two-year slump and its recently assumed control of Asian casino developer Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. Melco International became Melco Crown’s single largest shareholder last spring as Australian partner, Crown Resorts Ltd., reduced its stake to less than 12 percent. In February, the renamed Melco International increased its ownership stake to 51.3 percent.
For full-year 2016, Melco International reported net revenue of HKD23.9 billion (US$3 billion) compared to HKD395.1 million in 2015. The company reported HKD21.79 billion in casino revenue in 2016 and EBITDA of HKD5.3 billion, ten times the HKD350.3 million it posted in the previous year.
Melco’s board recommended the payment of a final dividend of HKD0.02 per share for 2016, expected to be paid in July.
In a statement, Melco Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho said, “After a long period of struggling through different challenges affecting the gaming industry in Macau, we have finally begun to see positive signs of recovery in gaming revenue during the third quarter of 2016.”
The firm said the Hard Rock Hotel at City of Dreams in Macau “will be operated under the name ‘the Countdown’ from July 2017 until March 31, 2018” and would be rebranded after that time. The same release said that Morpheus, City of Dreams’ fifth hotel tower would open in April 2018.
Ho said the company is “actively exploring opportunities in new markets, such as South Korea, Cyprus and Japan.” Beyond Macau, Ho and his companies are also invested in the Philippines and in the Russian Far East, where the gaming resort Tigre de Cristal opened in November 2015.
According to GGRAsia, Ho’s Summit Ascent Holdings Ltd announced that the casino in Vladivostok had swung to profit in 2016, the first full calendar year of operations. The firm reported a net profit attributable to shareholders of HK$559,000 (US$72,000) for the year, compared to a loss of HK$85.4 million in 2015.
Though VIP gaming has been strong and should continue growing with the addition of a new Macau junket, the property has been forced to trim its inventory of gaming tables and shut down its poker rooms due to increased competition from illegal gambling, reported CalvinAyre.com.
Summit Ascent said it is currently planning an expansion of the property and expects to open Phase II “in the second half of 2019,” GGRAsia reported.
