Gaming | Melco Resorts awards Lawrence Ho with USD10m in shares

Lawrence Ho, chairman and chief executive of Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd, has been awarded a restricted stock compensation valued at approximately USD10 million.
Accruing to a filing in the United States last week, the 484,956 restricted depositary shares valued at USD20.68 each, are equivalent to 1,454,868 Melco Resorts shares.
“The purpose of the aforesaid grant of Restricted Shares to Mr. Ho is for incentivizing and motivating him to strive for the future development of the Melco Resorts Group and its business,” the US Securities and Exchange Commission filing detailed.
“The directors consider that the terms of the grant […] are fair and reasonable […] and that the grant is in the interests of the company and its shareholders as a whole.”
The awards will vest in two equal tranches, on April 7, 2023, and April 7, 2024, respectively.
According to the group’s financial report released on March 31, the gaming operator posted a net loss of HKD12.38 billion for the full year of 2020
The group’s net revenue showed a sharp plunge of 70.2% to HKD13.42 billion. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) registered a negative value of HKD1.2 billion.
Ho commented that Covid-19 and ensuing travel restrictions significantly impacted the group’s financial performance throughout 2020.
Meanwhile, Moody’s Investors Service Inc has stated that the business performance of Melco Resorts is forecast to go downhill in 2021, mainly undermined by its worsened ratio of adjusted debt to EBITDA.
The group’s adjusted debt/EBITDA will be heightened by “around 10 times or higher in 2021 before improving to around five to six times in 2022 and around four times in 2023.”

Ticket opens for Studio City Water Park

Studio City Water Park is opening at Studio City on May 22 and tickets will go on sale from today.
The water park includes a towering 20-meter slide complex comprised of five slides. It features “a zero-gravity freefall; a giant bucket that tips out 1.8 tons of water every three minutes; a child-friendly area boasting a fountain; and a 450-meter river adventure.” Splashing Summer Fun Hotel Packages are also offered to different guests with a variety of hotel options, including Studio City Celebrity Tower, Morpheus and NÜWA at City of Dreams, as well as Altira Macau.