GGRAsia – Poor Ponte 16 performance to hit Success Universe 1H results

Poor Ponte 16 performance to hit Success Universe 1H results

Aug 18, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Macau casino investor Success Universe Group Ltd on Monday said it now expects to record a loss for the six months to June 30, as compared to a net profit of HKD47.7 million (US$6.2 million) for the first six months of 2014.

The new warning signals a worse-than-expected first-half performance for the Hong Kong-listed company, which it attributed to lacklustre results at casino-hotel Ponte 16, located on the Macau Peninsula.

In a profit warning issued on July 13, Success Universe had said it expected to record “a significant decline in the unaudited consolidated interim results” for the first six months of 2015 compared to one year earlier. Based on the five months to May 31, “the group recorded a significant decrease of the unaudited consolidated profit after tax … as compared with that of the corresponding period of 2014,” Success Universe added at the time.

Monday’s filing stated that based on further information available after the July 13 announcement, “there is a further decrease in the group’s shared profit of the associates relating to Ponte 16 [pictured],” the firm’s flagship investment project.

Success Universe added it expected to release its unaudited results for the first half of 2015 later this month.

The firm is a joint venture partner – alongside a unit of casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd – in Ponte 16.

Profit at SJM Holdings fell 54.1 percent year-on-year in the first half, the firm said last week.

Ponte 16 in May inaugurated what it dubbed “Macau’s first large-scale 3D museum”. The ‘Ponte 16 Macau 3D Museum’ is a branch of the Hong Kong 3D Museum, and features 18,000 square feet (1,672 sq metres) of exhibition space divided into six themed zones.