The financial statement revealed that Melco made $241.8m in the three months ending in September – a dire decline on the $446.4m for the same period in 2021.
Looking deeper, the Q3 report revealed more pain for Melco, as its adjusted EBITDA was negative $34.9m – compared to $31.9m in Q3 2021. Meanwhile, the operating loss for Melco was at a staggering $198.5m – $16.3m further down on last year’s $182.2m.
The final figures for the quarter must have met with a collective puff of cheeks for Melco’s board; the top brass would have known the quarter would be tough – but a 46% drop in revenue is savage.
Of course, the effects of this are directly down to the several lockdowns of Macau, a fact that Lawrence Ho, Chairman and CEO of Melco, was keen to highlight in his statement accompanying the results. “Our results for the third quarter of 2022 were impacted by the casino closures in July and the travel restrictions imposed across mainland China and Macau.
"In July, the Macau government implemented preventative measures against the pandemic and our casinos were closed for 12 days.”
The report sent Melco’s share price down, though not drastically – showing a 1.4% dip in trading when the market opened.
Ho is confident Macau’s business will bounce back, especially following the reopening of the group and e-visa system from the mainland, saying: “We are also cautiously optimistic that the granting of e-visas and group visas, which commenced on November 1, 2022, will lead to a gradual increase in visitation.”