Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd is to convert former junket areas at Grand Lisboa (pictured), its downtown casino hotel flagship, into luxury hotel space, says Daisy Ho Chiu Fung, the company’s chairman.
“At Grand Lisboa, the group is set to expand its room capacity by over 10 percent through the conversion of former junket areas into exclusive villas, mansions, and suites, further enhancing guest experiences,” stated Ms Ho in a press release accompanying Tuesday’s unaudited third-quarter results highlights.
Goldman Sachs said in a September note citing management commentary, that another Macau operator – MGM China Holdings Ltd – was to convert former junket gaming capacity at its MGM Macau property downtown, into 28 guest villas.
In May, SJM Holdings’ Ms Ho said work to refurbish the hotel space at Grand Lisboa was starting from year-end, and would take two years.
Grand Lisboa’s hotel is registered presently as having an aggregate of 431 rooms, according to information from the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO).
In other Tuesday commentary, Ms Ho noted that at its Cotai resort Grand Lisboa Palace, “over 50,000 square feet” (4,645 sq metres) of space for meetings incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) “would be added to showcase our venue’s signature blend of indoor-outdoor versatility, opening possibilities for sizable sports and music events”.
Grand Lisboa Palace opened in July 2021, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and has taken time to build its gaming and non-gaming businesses.
Vitaly Umansky, an analyst at Seaport Research Partners, said in a Tuesday note after the firm’s third-quarter highlights: “We expect the ramp up at Grand Lisboa Palace to remain slow and the long-term return on investment” for the property “is likely to be suboptimal”.
The analyst stated SJM Holdings’ market share in the quarter was 13.9 percent, up from 12.6 percent in the second quarter, “with 8.8 percent share by operated casinos – excluding satellites – up from 7.8 percent in the second quarter”.
He added, referring to house performance in operations: “With normal hold, operated casinos market share would have been approximately 8.4 percent.”
Mr Umansky acknowledged the group’s results were better quarter-on-quarter, “with better-than-expected VIP driven by high hold” at Grand Lisboa and Grand Lisboa Palace respectively.
“Without the high hold, EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation] would have been below estimates,” he added.
