Macau Legend Development Limited has issued a profit warning ahead of an expected loss of HK$490 million (US$63 million) for the six months to 30 June 2020.
The loss, expanded from the HK$107 million loss reported over the same period in 1H19, is ”primarily due to the significant decrease in revenue as a result of the social distancing measures and travel restrictions imposed by the authorities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and which have severely declined the tally of visitor arrivals to Macau and Laos in the first half of 2020,” the company said.
Macau Legend controls the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf precinct including Legend Palace and Babylon, and runs Savan Resorts in Laos. It has also proposed expansion into Cambodia – where it has purchased land – and Vietnam.
Long-time Chairman and CEO David Chow recently stepped down from the CEO role, handing the reigns over instead to wife Melinda Chan – herself a highly regarded political figure and President of Macau Fisherman’s Wharf International Investment Limited since October 2017.