Melco International Development Profit Falls 5%

Written on March 31, 2008 by admin

Ahead of it’s City of Dreams Topping-out Ceremony on 1 April 2008 at 12.10pm, comes the the news that casino operator Melco International Development Ltd. said Monday that its 2007 net profit fell 5 percent because of a one-off gain in the previous year.

The Hong Kong-listed company said its net profit in the 12 months ended Dec. 31 was HK$2.69 billion (US$346 million; ?219 million), down from HK$2.84 billion in 2006.

Melco ? controlled by Lawrence Ho, son of Macau gaming magnate Stanley Ho said revenue rose 27 percent to HK$1.02 billion (US$131 million; ?83 million) from HK$801 million.

The company’s board proposed a final dividend of HK$0.01 (US$0.001; ?0.0008) per share, unchanged from a year earlier.

Melco booked a gain of HK$3.1 billion (US$398 million; ?252 million) from the listing of unit Melco PBL Entertainment Macau Ltd. (MPEL) in the U.S. in December 2006.