Melco Crown Entertainment Q1 Profit Falls 34.3%

Melco Crown Entertainment Limited MPEL reported 34.3 percent drop in net income attributable to its shareholders to $39.8 million from $60.6 million in the year-ago quarter. Similarly, its earnings fell 36.4 percent to $0.07 per ADS from $0.11 per ADS in the same quarter last year.

The company's net revenues grew 5 percent to $1.104 billion from $1.054 billion in the previous year quarter driven by increased revenue generated by its Studio City that started operations in October last year. Street analysts predicted the company to earn $0.07 a share and revenue of $1.15 billion.

Reacting to the results, Melco Crown's Co-Chairman and CEO, Lawrence Ho, commented, "Our results in the first quarter of 2016 demonstrated the resilient nature of the mass market segments in Macau, improving trends at City of Dreams Manila and our ongoing commitment to streamlining costs which have enabled us to deliver group-wide Adjusted EBITDA which was flat compared to the first quarter of 2015, despite a declining revenue environment in Macau."

He added, "With the successful opening of our second integrated resort in Cotai, Studio City, we have further expanded our mass market offerings in Macau, including world-class entertainment, hotel, and other non-gaming amenities, together with innovative and immersive gaming offerings, which deliver an array of amenities that allow us to target a greater depth of customers as highlighted by the approximately 18% year-over-year increase in mass table gross gaming revenue we delivered during the first quarter of 2016 in Macau."

Melco Crown's CEO continued, "To ensure that City of Dreams in Macau remains the undisputed leader in the premium mass segment in Macau, we continue to make exciting enhancements to the property, including a meaningful retail upgrade which is due to begin opening in the middle of this year, together with the fifth hotel tower which will create a new landmark for Macau and the region when it opens in 2018."