I expect the Metallica business to have built up fairly substantial reserves from past successes.
I'd also point out that the article only says "it's likely" that the business has lost money. They don't know for certain, as it's only based on the fact that there have been some financial disasters, but they won't know the details of how much money their successes have made. I imagine that, other than the Orion festival, most of their touring is quite profitable.
Their touring should be profitable. Here are the boxscores of their last South America tour last year.
Metallica Estadio do Morumbi Sao Paulo, Brazil March 22, 2014 $5,701,630 61,742 / 63,347 1 / 0 $257.68, $77.30 T4F-Time For Fun
10 Metallica Estadio Unico Ciudad de La Plata Buenos Aires, Argentina March 29-30, 2014 $4,719,390 76,407 / 79,038 2 / 0 $124.87, $31.22 T4F-Time For Fun
12 Metallica Parque Bicentenario Quito, Ecuador March 18, 2014 $3,877,959 32,257 / 32,257 1 / 1 $225, $30 Evenpro Group/Move Concerts
15 Metallica Estadio Monumental Santiago, Chile March 27, 2014 $3,508,790 43,296 / 43,296 1 / 1 $170.18, $48.37 T4F-Time For Fun
18 Metallica Parque Simon Bolivar Bogota, Colombia March 16, 2014 $2,857,030 30,974 / 34,137 1 / 0 $156.23, $73.23 Evenpro Group/Move Concerts
21 Metallica Jockey Club Asuncion, Paraguay March 24, 2014 $2,256,140 28,277 / 32,200 1 / 0 $223.81, $40.29 Evenpro Group/Move Concerts
26 Metallica Estadio Nacional Lima, Peru March 20, 2014 $1,925,090 27,858 / 31,600 1 / 0 $164.23, $18.95 Evenpro Group/Move Concerts
https://pulsemusic.proboards.com/thread/139175/billboard-boxscore-04-12-14At the very least, they are not certainly playing in front of half-emptied crowds in South America and they always going to be a huge draw in any European Summer festivals, no matter what kind of tour they want to do.
It's just the other ventures that are the problem. I mean sure, they probably want to do all of this (Lulu, Orion Festival, Through the Never Movie) because they feel like doing it and can afford to do to take a hit if it doesn't do well financially. The problem is just that the fans just don't care as much. The fans just want a new album out and an arena tour where they don't have to pay as much money for a ticket as a festival or a stadium shows.