Macau Legend Development Ltd, which owns and operates Legend Palace and Babylon Casino on the Macau Peninsula and manages casino operations at Landmark Casino all under license from SJM, reported a loss of HK$107.5 million in the six months to 30 June 2019, down from a profit of HK$2.85 billion in the same period last year.
In its first half earnings announcement, Macau Legend said the decline was a result of a gain on the disposal of The Landmark Macau in April 2018 that was recognized in the company’s 1H18 results, as well as decreased contributions from the property as a whole this time around.
Despite the loss, group-wide revenue showed strong growth – up 13.7% year-on-year to HK$1.08 billion – including a 28.7% increase in gaming revenue to HK$867.5 million
The increase in gaming revenue included a 32.3% improvement to HK$405.3 million at flagship property Legend Palace, a 32.9% rise at Babylon to HK$78.8 million and 46.2% uptick at Landmark to HK$270.5 million. The group’s Laos property, Savan Legend, suffered a decline of HK$10.6 million.
The mass market segment showed by far the strongest growth across the board with Macau Legend reporting a 33.0% increase in revenue to HK$697.2 million. VIP enjoyed 19.5% growth to HK$122.9 million with slot revenue up very slightly to HK$47.4 million.
Group-wide Adjusted EBITDA for the six month period fell 24.5% to HK$151.5 million.
Addressing the results, Macau Legend commented that potential headwinds loomed in the near future, including over the second half of 2019.
“The second half of the year will remain susceptible to certain factors including uncertainties with the overall regional economic situation and current global trade disputes,” it said. “With the upcoming expiry of current gaming licenses in 2020 and 2022, the Group shall pay close attention to policy development of Macau Government in order to ensure that the Group can continue to participate in gaming business in Macau in the future.”
