Melco sees huge gains in profits during the first half of the year

Melco International released its financial report for the first half of the year to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday, and things look good. So good, in fact, that profits increased by 109.4% over the same period last year. In the first half of 2018, Melco picked up $43.9 million, a substantial jump over the $20.96 million reported in the first half of last year.

The increase came as a result of “better group-wide performance in all gaming segments and recovery of previously provided doubtful debt,” according to the company. Melco International is the owner of Melco Resorts, which operates casinos in Macau and the Philippines. The company’s Morpheus, a $1.1-billion hotel tower at City of Dreams Macau, opened during the first of the year, helping boost the company’s numbers.

Melco also recently opened another casino on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. That facility is a temporary casino that will be a precursor to its permanent operations on the island. Melco is also said to be a possible contender for a license in the newly approved Japanese casino resort market.

Net revenues for the first half of the year came in at $2.52 billion, a decrease of 1.6% on the $2.56 billion seen during the same period last year. Its trade receivables, which is typically linked to VIP gambling credit, rose to $221.6 million, while the provision for impairment on the receivables dropped from 2017’s figure of $38.82 million to $31.1 million for the period.