Operator News
China – Lack of Cotai presence continues to hinder SJM
By Phil - 31 July 2019
The prolonged lack of a presence on Macau’s Cotai Strip has hit the revenues of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau further with net gaming revenue falling by 0.7 per cent and market share slipping to 14.1 per cent.
The company said: “Construction of the Grand Lisboa Palace, the Group’s integrated resort on Cotai, continued in 2019. The
Group is striving for construction to complete by the end of 2019 and to seek the relevant licenses to begin operation as soon as possible thereafter.
The Group’s Adjusted EBITDA and profit increased by 6.1 per cent and 12.1 per cent, respectively, from the year-earlier period, whilst the Group’s Adjusted EBITDA Margin increased to 12.2 per cent from 11.4 per cent.
Mass market gross table gaming revenue of the Group increased by 8.0% and VIP gross gaming revenue showed a decrease of 25.1 per cent during the first half of 2019, compared with the year-earlier period. During the same period, slot machine gross revenue decreased by 1.2 per cent compared with the year-earlier period.
The 14.1 per cent share of Macau’s gaming revenue was made up of an 18. per cent% of mass market table gross gaming revenue and 10.7 per cent of VIP gross gaming revenue.
The Group’s flagship Casino Grand Lisboa decreased gross gaming revenue by 13.7 per cent, Adjusted Grand Lisboa EBITDA and attributable profit increased by 8.5 per cent and 7.8 per cent, respectively, as compared with the year-earlier period.
The occupancy rate of Hotel Grand Lisboa decreased by 1.5 per cent from the year-earlier period to 94.8%. Average daily room rate decreased during the period by 1.1% to HK$1,487.
Dr. Ambrose So, Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SJM Holdings Limited, commented: “We are pleased that our results for the first half of the year showed decent increases in Adjusted EBITDA and Net Profit, while construction of our Grand Lisboa Palace project nears completion. Our Board has voted to declare an interim dividend of HK8 cents per share.”
