Starlight Culture Entertainment Group Ltd, known previously as Jimei International Entertainment Group Ltd and previously led by Macau junket veteran Jack Lam Yin Lok, reported a first-half loss of HKD237.9 million (US$30.4 million), compared to a HKD28.6-million profit in prior-year period.
The firm said on Wednesday that the reason for the loss was “mainly attributable to the gross loss of HKD3.6 million incurred for the six months ended 30 June 2017 as compared to a gross profit of HKD60.6 million” for the six months ended June 30, 2016.
The firm said there was also a “loss on change in fair value of derivative financial liabilities” of approximately HKD151.7 million for the reporting period.
In the “entertainment and gaming” segment, Starlight Culture generated for the first half of 2017 revenue and segmental gross loss of respectively about HKD8.5 million and HKD4.0 million. In the prior-year period, the legacy company had reported entertainment and gaming revenue and gross profit of, respectively, HKD130.6 million and HKD60.5 million.
Business in the segment had been “affected by the junket arrangement with NagaWorld, [which]… came to an end in early 2017, and under the tightened credit control over the group’s gaming promotion business,” Starlight Culture said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It was referring first to the casino resort in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, operated by Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp Ltd.
Starlight Culture’s diversification into feature film making – via a “media and culture” segment – announced in the first half 2017, had not generated any revenue as of the end of that period, the company noted.
The company said basic loss per share for the first half amounted to approximately HKD0.4384. Group wide, the “deficiency per share” – in terms of decrease in equity – attributable to the owners of the company as of June 30 was approximately HKD0.12, compared to a first-half 2016 net asset value per share attributable to the owners of the company of approximately HKD0.22.
