Melco Crown Entertainment (MPEL) Tops Q1 EPS by 3c

Melco Crown Entertainment (NASDAQ: MPEL) reported Q1 EPS of $0.44, $0.03 better than the analyst estimate of $0.41. Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.36 billion versus the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion.

Mr. Lawrence Ho, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Melco Crown Entertainment, commented, “The Company delivered another strong performance in the first quarter of 2014, with net revenues and Adjusted property EBITDA increasing approximately 19% and 31%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis.

“Our group-wide profitability continues to be driven by the mass market segment at City of Dreams, a segment which is supported by the property’s unique premium positioning and best-in-class gaming, hotel entertainment and other food and beverage amenities. We remain committed to our on-going table and room optimization strategy which has resulted in a shift of more resources to the mass market segment, positioning the property to take advantage of the expected growth in this higher margin segment in the future.

“City of Dreams Manila is due to open later this year, marking our first entrance outside of Macau. Our integrated resort in Entertainment City in Manila Bay brings together a collection of World-class brands, including three exciting hotel brands — Crown Towers hotel, Nobu Hotel and a hotel managed by the Hyatt group — as well as a range of other entertainment and food and beverage offerings. We believe this property will significantly enhance Manila’s appeal to regional tourists who are seeking a unique and World-class entertainment and gaming experience.

“Studio City remains on track to open in mid-2015 and will represent the next standalone integrated resort to open in Macau. This exciting cinematically-themed integrated resort will bring a new level of entertainment to Macau and will substantially increase our already large exposure to the increasingly important mass market segments in Macau and fully capitalize on the planned development on Hengqin Island.

“In association with the award-winning, internationally renowned architect, Dame Zaha Hadid, we recently unveiled the design plan for the fifth and final hotel tower at City of Dreams, Macau. This newest addition to our flagship, premium-focused, integrated resort in Macau will add a new icon to Macau and the region. The development of the new tower is underway and is expected to open in early 2017.

“Macau delivered impressive growth in the first quarter of 2014, particularly in the mass market table games segment which expanded 38.9% on a year-over-year basis. We believe the mass market segment will be the long term driver of Macau’s success which, given our significant current and future exposure to this higher margin segment, means we are well positioned to capitalize on this on-going trend.

“While we remain fully committed to optimizing our current operating assets in Macau and progressing our exciting development pipeline both in Manila and Macau, we also continue to further our goal of becoming a leading gaming and entertainment company in the region, with particular focus on new major markets, most notably Japan.

“The Company also declared a quarterly dividend for the first quarter of 2014 of US$0.1293 per ADS, or HK$0.3341 per ordinary share, representing the first dividend under our new ordinary dividend policy announced earlier this year.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Melco Crown Entertainment (MPEL) click here.

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