Kingston Financial’s Macau casino revenue up 31 pct

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

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Hong Kong-listed Kingston Financial Group Ltd said that casino revenue from the two Macau casino hotels it controls rose 31 percent year-on-year in the 12 months to March 31.

Casino revenue, including gambling revenue and food and in-casino beverage sales, amounted to approximately HK$710.90 million (US$91.7 million) for the period, versus HK$542.80 million in the previous year.

Casino revenue accounted for 74.2 percent of total hotel and gaming business turnover, compared to 71.3 percent in 2013.

Its two casino properties – Casa Real (pictured) on the peninsula and Grandview at Taipa – are operated by Macau gaming licensee SJM Holdings Ltd, the company said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

“The two casinos consistently provided solid contributions to the group in line with the rapid development of the gaming industry in Macau,” added Kingston.

“To retain quality customers and attract potential ones, the group strengthened its membership programmes and provided a variety of incentives for members to increase their spending in the casinos,” the company said, adding “the live baccarat machines at Casa Real brought additional crowd to the property, achieving synergy with the slot machines business…”

As of March 31, the group had 59 live-dealer gaming tables in its two mass-market halls, 12 tables in its two self-managed VIP rooms, and 240 slot machines and 140 live baccarat machines in its two electronic gaming halls.

The group’s hotel revenue, “mainly comprising hotel rooms, food and beverage sale and other rental income,” rose 13.1 percent year-on-year to approximately HK$246.90 million, from HK$218.22 million in the prior period.

Average room occupancy rates for Casa Real and Grandview were 89 percent and 84 percent respectively, up one percentage point and four percentage points from the previous 12 months.

Thanks to “newly renovated guest rooms, the group was in the better position to solicit high quality guests to further enhance profitability in the hotel segment,” said Kingston.

Pollyanna Chu Yuet Wah, chief executive of Kingston Financial, acquired a controlling stake in Casa Real in 2005 for HK$750 million in cash and 110 million shares according to evidence submitted to a Hong Kong court. Control of Grandview was achieved the same year in a separate deal. The assets were later injected into the Kingston Financial listed company.

Pollyanna Chu, ranked by Forbes as the 40th richest person in Hong Kong in 2013 with an estimated net worth of US$1.4 billion, sits on the national committee of the mainland government’s advisory body the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

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