Grand Emperor casino revenue slips 10 pct in 1H fiscal

Nov 26, 2014 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  

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Gaming revenue at Macau’s Grand Emperor Hotel (pictured) – which operates a casino under the gaming licence of SJM Holdings Ltd – fell 9.9 percent year-on-year in the six months to September 30.

Market-wide, Macau casino revenue dropped by 0.9 percent during the same period, according to the local regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

Profit attributable to shareholders of Grand Emperor Hotel’s parent company – Hong Kong-listed Emperor Entertainment Hotel Ltd – fell 5.3 percent year-on-year in the fiscal half year, to HKD263.72 million (US$34 million) from HKD278.34 million in the year-prior period.

The board declared an interim dividend of HKD0.05 per share, compared to HKD0.06 per share in the equivalent period in 2013. The results were given in a filing on Tuesday.

Management said in a commentary to the numbers: “During the period, Macau’s gaming revenue growth has been narrowing amid the slowing credit growth and overcasting of policy-related concerns.”

Total gaming revenue for Grand Emperor Hotel was HKD901.6 million, compared to HKD1.0 billion in the year-prior period. Gaming accounted for 85.6 percent of the group’s total revenue during the financial half-year.

Mass-market casino revenue fell 14.1 percent during the first half, to HKD671.0 million, from HKD780.8 million a year earlier.

The property operated 67 mass tables during the reporting period – the same number as in 2013. The average win per mass table per day was HKD99,000 during the half year, compared to HKD115,000 in the year-prior period.

Grand Emperor Hotel also has a VIP room with 10 tables – the same number as in 2013 – that is self-managed by the group.

The parent said the VIP facility generated rolling chip volume of HKD11.4 billion, a decrease of 5 percent on the HKD12.0 billion achieved in the first six months of fiscal 2013. But revenue from the VIP room actually grew by 7.2 percent year-on-year to HKD214.6 million compared to HKD200.1 million in the year-prior period.

During the period, the casino hotel operated 200 slot machine seats, compared to 267 seats in the same period of 2013.

The segment recorded a gross win of HKD36.0 million, a decline of 17.4 percent compared to the HKD43.6 million in first half fiscal 2013.

Slot revenue was HK$16.0 million, compared to HKD19.2 million a year earlier. Average win per seat per day was HKD1,020, compared to HKD860 in first half 2013.

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