Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (MLCO) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ:MLCO) Q4 2022 Earnings Conference Call March 1, 2023 8:30 AM ET

Company Participants

Jeanny Kim - Senior Vice President, Group Treasurer

Lawrence Ho Yau Lung - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

Geoffrey Davis - Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

David Sisk - Chief Operating Officer, Macau Resorts

Conference Call Participants

George Choi - Citi

Joseph Greff - JPMorgan

Ricardo Chinchilla - Deutsche Bank

Praveen Choudhary - Morgan Stanley

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for participating in the Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call of Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited. [Operator Instructions] Today's conference is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the call over to Ms. Jeanny Kim, Senior Vice President, Group Treasurer of Melco Resorts Entertainment Leader. Please go ahead.

Jeanny Kim

Thank you, operator and thank you for joining us today for our fourth quarter 2022 earnings call. On the call are Lawrence Ho, Geoff Davis, Evan Winkler; and our Property Presidents in Macau Manila and Cyprus.

Before we get started, please note that today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements made under the safe harbor provision of federal securities laws. Our actual results could differ from our anticipated results. In addition, we may discuss non-GAAP measures. A definition and reconciliation of each of these measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures are included in the earnings release. Finally, please note that our supplementary earnings slides are posted on our Investor Relations website.

With that, I'll turn the call over to Mr. Lawrence Ho.

Lawrence Ho Yau Lung

Thank you, Jeanny. The performance of our Macau properties in 2023 has been so far highly encouraging. During the peak days of Chinese New Year this year, we saw EBITDA reach 6 million a day and CO GGR exceeds what we recorded during Chinese New Year in 2019. Volume post Chinese New Year is holding up well and our daily average mass volume in February has been in line with January. This recent performance supports our continued belief in the return of pent-up demand and our view that Macau will continue to develop as a leading international destination for entertainment and leisure.

I would like to express my appreciation to the Macau government for the award of a gaming concession to continue to operate in Macau for the next 10 years. We greatly appreciate the consideration given to our proposal and our investment proposition that we believe will continue to build on our existing strengths in entertainment and nongaming attractions. We are excited to execute on our investment commitments to continue to bring best-in-class attractions and facilities to the Macau market. Construction of Studio City Phase 2 is complete. The first stage opening is targeted for the second quarter which will include 1 of the hotel towers along with the indoor water park which is expected to be the largest of its kind in Asia. The remainder of Phase 2 is currently expected to open in the third quarter.