Melco sees increasing revenues, decreasing income in Q1 2019

The first quarter of 2019 has been a bit of a mixed bag for Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd. In their earnings report, the operator indicated that revenues have improved year on year, but overall income has taken a hit.

It’s a pretty substantial hit too. Net income fell from $156.6 million to $117.4 million, representing a 25% decrease. This came despite an increase in operating revenue of 4%, going from $1.31 billion to $1.36 billion year on year. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) also improved from $401.8 million to $406.8 million.

They broke down this report based on their Studio City resort in Macau’s Cotai district, and the City of Dreams located in Manila’s Entertainment City. Those two spots had fairly different experiences in the first quarter.

There’s no denying that Macau has had a rough time of it so far in 2019. Studio City’s EBITDA declined by 12% year-on-year to $96.4 million. Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, the company’s CEO, noted that they’ve seen record mass table revenues at the resort, and increases in non-gaming assets.