Macau slowdown delays CY Foundation expansion plans

Mar 26, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  

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Hong Kong-listed CY Foundation Group Ltd, the parent of Macau-based casino services provider CY Management Ltd, said its plans to expand slot machine operations have to be extended beyond the original deadlines.

“Given the recent changes in market environment in Macau, the group has not been able to achieve its target to expand the number of gaming machines in operation to 1,000 by the end of this financial year [on March 31, 2015],” the company said in a filing this week.

CY Foundation identified the market changes affecting Macau’s gaming industry as “the enforcement of non-smoking policy in casinos, mainland China’s policies on restricting frequency of visitation to Macau and the anti-corruption drive within mainland China”.

The company had said in its interim report in December that its goal was to expand the number of gaming machines in operation to 1,000 by the end of the current financial year, and to 3,000 by the end of the financial year ending March 31, 2017.

In its latest filing, CY Foundation said it would continue to explore potential sites in Macau and Southeast Asia.

“The group has extended its plan to achieve the goal of 1,000 gaming machines in operation for a further year to the financial year ending March 31, 2016. Similarly, the group has extended its goal to achieve 3,000 gaming machines by a year to the end of the financial year ending March 31, 2018,” the firm said.

CY Foundation warned in the same filing that the loss for the financial year ending March 31, 2015 “is expected to increase to a greater extent” compared to the prior-year. For the financial year ended March 31, 2014, the company posted a loss attributable to the owners of the company of HKD39.8 million (US$5.1 million).

In November, the company reported a net loss of HKD11.92 million for the six months to September 30.

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