City of Dreams Manila reports US$50 million loss in 2Q20

The decline was said to be “a result of the temporary closures of business and imposition of prohibition measures” related to the pandemic

Melco Resorts and Entertainment Philippines Corp, operator of City of Dreams Manila (COD), has reported a net loss of around P2.41 billion (US$49.5 million) for the second quarter of this year, compared to a net income of P1.14 billion (US$23.4 million) for the same period last year.  

The report came after suspension of operations since mid-March, as ordered by regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) in response to the government’s call to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.  

City of Dreams Manila is one of the Integrated Resorts located in the country’s Entertainment City and is a subsidiary of US-listed Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd, with the latter being controlled by HK-listed Melco International Development Ltd, under the leadership of Lawrence Ho.  

Citing the report of GGR Asia, City of Dreams Manila recorded a revenue of P387.2 million (US$7.9 million) down from P9.17 billion (US$188.4 million) from the same period last year. The drop was due to “temporary closure of business and imposition of prohibition measures” resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.  

However, City of Dreams Manila recorded revenue for the period pf April to June after being given the go signal to operate under a dry-run, authorized by regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), which aims to “address all potential operational concerns to achieve reopening of City of Dreams Manila”, stated in a filing by Melco Resorts.  

It is reported that other casino operators in Metro Manila were also given the same authorization to conduct test-run for limited guests.  

The company posted revenue of P291.4 million (US$5.9 million) from April to June. 96.1 percent decline compared to the same period last year, due to “lower gross gaming revenues… as the imposition of travel restrictions, temporary business closures and other measures taken by the Philippines and other countries throughout the world significantly disrupted the group’s operations”, said the operator. 

City of Dreams Manila has suspended its dry-run since 03 August, as the Philippine government announced reverting back to a stricter quarantine status for Metro Manila until 18 August.  The country has been in different quarantine stages since mid-March, starting off with the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), similar to a full lockdown status, while gradually transitioning to more relaxed quarantine statuses over the last few months.  

Casino operations in areas with less strict quarantine status have resumed limited operations after approval of their health and safety protocol by PAGCOR.  

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