Kingston Financial’s Apr-Sept casino revenue dips 3pct

Nov 27, 2017 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  

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Kingston Financial Group Ltd reported that gaming revenue from two Macau casinos it controls fell by 2.6 percent year-on-year in the six months to September 30.

Gaming revenue for the period declined to approximately HKD225.9 million (US$29.0 million), from HKD231.8 million in the year-prior period, the company said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday. The figure includes revenue generated from food and beverage sales in the two casinos.

The decline in gaming turnover led to lower commissions paid as incentives to attract or retain gambling customers, the firm said. Gaming commissions fell 15.2 percent year-on-year to approximately HKD41.3 million in the latest period, according to Friday’s filing.

Kingston Financial controls two casino hotels – Casa Real on Macau peninsula and Grandview (pictured) on Taipa. They offer gaming under the casino licence of SJM Holdings Ltd via a so-called service agreement.

As at September 30, Kingston Financial controlled 64 mass-market tables, and 12 tables in VIP rooms. Its casinos also had an aggregate of 277 slot machines and 140 “live baccarat machines” in electronic gaming halls at the two venues, the firm said.

Kingston Financial’s principal business is financial services, including securities brokerage, underwriting and share placements, as well as financing for margin trades and organisation of initial public offerings.

Revenue from the gaming business segment accounted for 14.0 percent of the HKD1.62-billion revenue recorded by the group in the six months ended September 30, said Kingston Financial. Group wide net profit for the period increased by about 22.1 percent year-on-year to HKD908.9 million, mainly boosted by an increase in income from the firm’s margin and IPO financing business.

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