Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd reported a profit attributable to its owners of HKD101 million (US$13.0 million) for the three months to September 30, compared with a loss of HKD410 million in the prior-year period.
Group adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at nearly HKD1.04 billion for the third quarter this year, a 83.2-percent increase from a year earlier, the firm said in unaudited highlights filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
SJM Holdings’ total net revenue rose by 27.8 percent year-on-year, to just below HKD7.50 billion in the July to September period. Third-quarter net gaming revenue was nearly HKD7.00 billion, up 29.2 percent year-on-year.
During the reporting quarter, SJM Holdings’ rolling gross gaming revenue (GGR) was HKD778 million, compared to HKD335 million in the prior-year period.
Non-rolling GGR for the period was HKD6.10 billion, an increase of 24.6 percent year-on-year. Electronic games GGR was HKD620 million, up 24.2 percent from a year ago.
Total revenue at the group’s Cotai resort, Grand Lisboa Palace (pictured), was HKD1.78 billion in the third quarter. The property’s third-quarter adjusted property EBITDA stood at HKD165 million, an improvement on the negative figure of HKD27 million a year earlier.
Daisy Ho Chiu Fung, chairman of SJM Holdings, was quoted as saying in a press release issued after the results: “It gives me pleasure to report the unfolding potential of the Grand Lisboa Palace Resort, with its ramp-up underlining the group’s strong turnaround from challenging times to renewed growth.”
For the nine months to September 30, SJM Holdings recorded a loss of HKD61 million, on revenue that rose by 39.9 percent year-on-year, to HKD21.30 billion.
The casino firm recorded adjusted EBITDA of HKD2.77 billion for the first nine months of 2024, as compared with HKD1.03 billion a year ago.
Ms Ho said that in coming quarters, the company would launch a series of “key… drivers” to boost visitor volume to its properties.
These included “a diversified pipeline of dining options,” and “increased MICE [meetings incentives, conferences and exhibitions] capacity at Grand Lisboa Palace”.
For its main Macau peninsula property, Grand Lisboa, there would be a “10 percent expansion in hotel capacity”, she added.
Ms Ho stated: “With continued quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth in GGR, I am confident that our investments in both people and properties will yield sustained, long-term value.”
Moody’s Investors Service Inc said in a September report that it expected the ramp-up of Grand Lisboa Palace to “help SJM gain market share by building a significant presence in Cotai”.
(Updated 9.05pm, Nov 12)
