Macau satellite casino promoter Emperor Entertainment Hotel Ltd reported an annual loss attributable to its owners that narrowed to HKD98.2 million (US$12.5 million) for the 12 months to March 31, from HKD528.3 million a year earlier.
In a filing on Friday to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company said the main reason was a “reversal of impairment losses of assets” in the amount of HKD31.8 million, and a “fair value gain of investment properties” in the value of HKD19.7 million.
The firm runs casino venue the Grand Emperor Hotel (pictured) in downtown Macau. Emperor Entertainment operates a second hotel in Macau, called Inn Hotel, but that property does not have gaming facilities. The group is also engaged in hotel operations and the lease of serviced apartments in Hong Kong.
Emperor Entertainment’s annual adjusted segmental loss before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation was a negative HKD109.8 million, an improvement on the HKD171.8-million negative result a year earlier.
The group’s total revenue declined by 30.0 percent year-on-year, to HKD291.1 million.
Revenue from hotels and serviced apartments increased by 31.0 percent from the prior year, to HKD203.4 million, accounting for 69.9 percent of the firm’s overall revenue.
Gaming revenue fell by 66.3 percent year-on-year, to HKD87.7 million, accounting for 30.1 percent of the group’s total revenue. The firm said that was because the gaming operation was run by a unit of SJM Holdings Ltd “during a certain period of the year”, e.i., about a six-month period.
Revenue from the mass-market gaming hall was down 54.9 percent year-on-year, at nearly HKD80.8 million. Revenue from the VIP room stood at HKD690,000, compared to HKD65.0 million in the prior year. Slot-machine revenue fell by 62.0 percent year-on-year, to nearly HKD6.3 million.
Emperor Entertainment ceased running gaming operations at Grand Emperor Hotel on June 26 last year. The casino was being run until that date under a service agreement with SJM Holdings. The casino firm took over running of the casino from June 27 to December 31.
Casino operations resumed at the start of the year on a satellite basis at the Grand Emperor Hotel, according to its promoter.
The deal is for a term of three years, starting from January 1 this year, with a unit of Emperor Entertainment entitled to get from SJM Holdings a percentage of monthly gross gaming revenue (GGR) from the casino operation, up to an annual cap to be adjusted over the course of the up-to-36 months of the deal.
In Friday’s filing, Emperor Entertainment said it believed the “future economic growth” of Hong and Macau would “benefit the tourist and hospitality industries, enabling them to deliver long-term positive returns”.
“To thrive in a highly competitive market in both regions, the group will continue strengthening its market presence by enhancing the guest experience, implementing better customer segmentation, and capitalising on its brand awareness arising from its long establishment and popularity in Chinese-speaking communities,” it stated.
