Melco anticipates a turnaround in FY22 as losses hit $750 million.
Melco has
After a rough few years due to the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, the firm would benefit greatly from the return of the Macau market, which has always provided the bulk of its income.
The corporation mentioned the temporary halt to testing for mainland Chinese, Hong Kong, and Taiwanese tourists to Macau in its annual financial report. The special administrative region's gaming revenues increased by 233% from MOP3.5bn in December 2022 to MOP11.6bn in January 2023 as a result of this.
Anticipated demand
Melco has had a "highly encouraging" start to 2023, according to CEO Lawrence Ho.
During the Chinese New Year, Melco Lawrence Ho highlighted promising preliminary data in the company's revenues.
During the peak days of Chinese New Year, which occurred from 22 January to 5 February, Ho stated that daily gross gambling income topped MOP6m in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA).
He went on to say that since the new year, business has been good, with February's daily average volume remaining unchanged from January.
"We remain confident in the return of pent-up demand and our belief that Macau will continue to develop as a leading international destination for entertainment and leisure," Ho stated, adding that the recent performance further validates this belief.
Officially, Melco's new 10-year concession started on 1 January 2023 after being granted the licence in November. Ho expressed the company's "honour" at this turn of events.
"We are grateful for the time and attention paid to our proposal and the investment opportunities that we feel will help us expand upon our current strengths in the entertainment and nongaming attractions categories."
Quarter four
Third quarter sales of US$337.1m were down 30% from $480.6m a year ago, according to the company. The period ended on December 31.
Expenses and operational costs for the business also dropped, falling from $585 million to $537 million, an 8% decrease.
The decline in casino expenses, which went from $286 million to $227 million, contributed to this. In the amortisation gaming sub-concession, costs also decreased, going from $14 million to $2 million. In the meanwhile, hotel expenses went down from $12.6 million to $11.1 million, and food and beverage expenses went down from $22.7 million to $20.9 million.
In 2022, COVID-19 regulations had a significant impact on Macau.
The company's net loss increased from $159.9 million to $251.9 million in the fourth quarter, and its operational losses increased from $104.4 million to $199.5 million, a 91.1% increase.
Annual report
Total annual sales dropped 32.8% from $2.01 billion to $1.35 billion in the 12 months ending December 31. Casino earnings, which accounted for the bulk of total income, dropped from $1.68 billion to $1.08 billion year over year.
The percentage of Melco's total revenue that came from food and drink and rooms was relatively minimal. During that time, revenue from food and beverages dropped from $97 million to $85 million, and revenue from rooms plummeted from $157 million to $116 million.
This resulted in a net loss of $930 million and an operating loss of $743 million.
Restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 epidemic, such as widespread lockdowns in the summer, have persisted in impacting revenue.
"The heightened travel restrictions in Macau and mainland China related to COVID-19 during the quarter primarily attributable to the decrease in total operating revenues," Melco observed in the report.
