Melco Resorts & Entertainment saw its revenue grow by 3% to US$1.3 billion in the three months to 31 March 2018, aided by the continued ramp of VIP operations at Studio City.
Adjusted Property EBITDA increased 14% year-on-year to US$402 million, “mainly attributable to higher contribution from Studio City and Altira Macau driven by increased gross gaming revenues in all gaming segments,” the company said.
Net revenue at City of Dreams declined 7.6% in 1Q18 to US$640.5 million due to a fall in rolling chip volume from US$12.6 billion in 1Q17 to US$11.1 billion. Mass market table games drop increased by 10.3% to US$1.2 billion while slot machine handle decreased slightly to US$1 billion.
City of Dreams generated Adjusted EBITDA of US$208.0 million for the quarter compared with Adjusted EBITDA of US$213.5 million in 1Q17.
The City of Dreams results were offset by improved performance at Studio City which saw net revenue jump 32.6% to US$368.4 million. Studio City generated Adjusted EBITDA of US$110.1 million in the first quarter of 2018 compared with Adjusted EBITDA of US$67.8 million in the same period last year, an increase of 62.4%.
VIP performed strongly, with rolling chip volume totaling US$6.6 billion, up from US$3.6 billion, while win rate also increased to 2.7% from 2.4% in 1Q17. Mass market table games drop increased 25.7% to US$825.2 million in the first quarter with slot machine handle rising from US$497.4 million to US$581.6 million.
Altira Macau enjoyed a 10.4% increase in net revenue to US$120.4 million and a 386% increase in Adjusted EBITDA to US$18 million due primarily to rolling chip volume growing from US$4.1 billion to US$5.6 billion. Mass market table game drop grew 39.7% to US$139.3 million.
At City of Dreams Manila, net revenue declined 9.7% to US$142.2 million due to worse luck in VIP. Rolling chip volume increased from US$2.4 billion in 1Q17 to US$2.8 billion but win rate fell from 3.4% to 2.9%. Mass market table games drop increased 22.3% to US$188.2 million, with Adjusted EBITDA slightly down to US$58.8 million in the first quarter of 2018.
Melco Resorts Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho said the company would continue to focus on upgrades to Studio City.
“At Studio City, we are embarking on a series of property upgrades to refine the entertainment offerings and improve accessibility into the resort, which we believe will facilitate the continuing ramp up that the property has experienced over the past several quarters,” Ho said.
“As previously announced, the Macau government has recently granted an extension of the development period under the Studio City land concession contract to July 2021, enabling us to continue to develop our construction plan for the phase 2 expansion of Studio City, which we believe will augment the existing room inventory and entertainment offerings, as well as contribute to the continued growth and development of this property.”
Melco is also set to soon launch its new luxury hotel Morpheus at City of Dreams.
