Asian casino operator Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MRE) enjoyed double-digit gains in revenue and earnings in 2017, while net income nearly doubled year-on-year.
Figures released Thursday show MRE’s group-wide revenue hitting $1.332b in the three months ending December 31, 2017, while adjusted earnings gained 12% to $340m and net income surged 87.5% to $81.2m.
For the year as a whole, revenue rose nearly 18% to $5.3b, adjusted earnings gained 31% to $1.42b and net income very nearly doubled to $347m. MRE investors rejoiced as the company decided to share the wealth by boosting its quarterly dividends by 50%.
MRE CEO Lawrence Ho credited the gains to the Macau market having “rebounded strongly” last year following three years of decline, while MRE’s Philippine operations enjoyed “robust” growth across all gaming segments.
In Macau, MRE’s three properties – City of Dreams, Studio City and Altira – all posted strong VIP turnover and revenue gains. The gains were most dramatic at Studio City, which didn’t add VIP gambling to its mix until November 2016, and that skewed comparison pushed VIP turnover up 326% and revenue 754% higher.
Mass market table drop and revenue enjoyed solid gains at both Studio City and Altira, while City of Dreams reported mass table revenue falling 13% year-on-year, primarily the result of a higher-than-average mass win rate in Q4 2016 falling back to earth in the most recent quarter.
City of Dreams Manila was firing on all cylinders in Q4, with VIP turnover and revenue up 40% and 20%, respectively. Mass market tables enjoyed similarly gaudy gains in drop (+27%) and revenue (+41%), while slots revenue rose 11%, all of which resulted in overall property revenue rising 16% to $167m and earnings up 7% to $54m.
Looking forward, MRE has appointed David Sisk as the new property president of City of Dreams (Macau), while Geoff Andres is new president of Studio City. Ho said the company’s entire portfolio of properties would benefit from the “cross-pollination of new ideas and management initiatives.”
