Gaming revenue at Emperor Entertainment Hotel Ltd, the operator of one of Macau’s so-called satellite casinos, rose 2.4 percent year-on-year, to HKD559.5 million (US$71.5 million) in the first half of its financial year ended September 30. The improvement in gaming revenue was supported by a 22.1-percent increase in income from the firm’s mass-market segment, to nearly HKD378.3 million, said the company in a Monday filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Revenue from the mass-market segment accounted for 67.6 percent of the group’s total gaming revenue in the reporting period. The company said such growth was due to the “organic expansion of mass gaming market and enhanced customer services” at its Grand Emperor Hotel (pictured) in Macau.
The group’s VIP operation however reported a decline for the six months to September 30. The rolling amount during the period was HKD6.2 billion, down 36.1 percent from the prior-year period, while revenue fell by 26.3 percent to HKD160.2 million.
The gross win from slot machines in the Grand Emperor Hotel rose to HKD44.2 million from HKD41.2 million as the number of seats increased to 180 from 158. Revenue from slot machines rose to HKD21.0 million from HKD19.5 million, said the company.
Emperor Entertainment Hotel runs a casino in its Grand Emperor Hotel, using the gaming licence of SJM Holdings Ltd. The hotel has six gaming floors, together covering more than 130,000 square feet (12,077 sq metres), that house 67 gaming tables in the main-floor gaming concourse; plus a single VIP room containing 10 tables.
The group also has a mid-range, non-gaming, 287-room leisure and business hotel on Taipa, near the Cotai Strip, called the Inn Hotel Macau.
In its fiscal first half, group-wide revenue increased by 1.9 percent year-on-year, to HKD677.9 million. The group’s gaming business continued to be the main contributor to the firm’s financial performance, accounting for 82.5 percent of aggregate revenue for the period.
Net profit in the six months to September 30 was HKD177.2 million, up 37.4 percent from a year earlier. Emperor Entertainment Hotel said in Monday’s filing that such increase was due to the group’s increased shareholding in the non-wholly owned subsidiary – called Luck United Holdings Ltd – that operates the Grand Emperor Hotel.
The group announced in January it had agreed to pay HKD155 million to acquire a further 5-percent stake in Luck United Holdings, increasing its equity interest in the latter company to 80 percent.
The board of Emperor Entertainment Hotel declared an interim dividend of HKD0.030 per share, to be paid on December 20.
In its latest fiscal year, ended March 31, 2019, the company saw a 6.6-percent year-on-year decline in profit – to HKD367.5 million – as revenues decreased.
