Hong Kong-listed hotel and casino operator Macau Legend Development Ltd. published on Thursday its financial results for the first half of the year. Revenue totaled HK$666 million during the period in review, down 4.6% from the figure posted for the same six months of the previous year.
Gaming revenue dropped 6.8% year-on-year to HK$419.4 million. Revenue from non-gaming operations amounted to HK$246.6 million, reflecting a 0.7% decrease from the prior-year period. Macau Legend attributed the poorer results when compared to what was generated last year to the challenging environment in Macau. The company currently manages two integrated hotel and casino companies in the special administrative region, known to be the only Chinese territory where casino gambling is legal, with those being The Landmark Macau and Macau Fisherman’s Wharf.
Adjusted EBITDA for the period amounted to HK$46.6 million, down 63.7% year-on-year. Loss attributable to company owners totaled HK$175.3 million. The operator said that it was mainly influenced by a decline in revenue from mass market gaming tables as well as to outsourced VIP tables at its Pharaoh’s Palace Casino. A drop in interest income from fixed deposits was also believed to have contributed to the overall loss.
As mentioned above, Macau Legend generated gaming revenue of HK$419.4 million during the six months ended June 30, 2016, down 6.8% year-on-year. Revenue from mass market tables at the operator’s Pharaoh’s Palace Casino was down 14.2% to HK$265.4 million. Babylon Casino generated a total of HK$60.8 million during the period in review, reflecting an 18.4% increase from the prior-year period. Pharaoh’s Palace Casino’s outsourced VIP tables contributed HK$10.5 million to the overall figure posted, down 53.8% year-on-year.
New Legend, known to be a self-managed VIP operation of Macau Legend, generated HK$51.9 million at Pharaoh’s Palace Casino, up 4.8% year-on-year, and HK$26.3 million at Babylon Casino, up 107.6%. New Legend’s overall gross gaming revenue increased 53.1% during this year’s first half to reach a total of HK$167.9 million.
Macau Legend also provided update on several projects it had formerly initiated. The company said that the second new hotel at Macau Fisherman’s Wharf will soon be completed and is slated to have its soft opening towards the end of the year, provided that all the necessary regulatory approvals are granted.
In May, the hotel and casino operator agreed to purchase the Savan Vegas Hotel and Entertainment Complex in Laos after entering a HK$325.9-million development agreement with a company wholly-owned by the country’s Ministry of Finance.
Last month, Macau Legend also announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Portugal’s Setúbal Municipality for the potential construction of an integrated resort at the Setúbal riverfront.
