Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd reported a profit attributable to its owners of HKD9 million (US$1.2 million) in the three months to September 30, down 91.1 percent on the HKD101 million in the prior-year period.
Group adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at HKD881 million for the third quarter this year, down 15.0 percent from a year earlier, the firm said in unaudited highlights filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
Group adjusted EBITDA margin was down 1.3 percentage points year-on-year, at 12.5 percent.
Daisy Ho Chiu Fung, chairman and executive director of SJM Holdings, was quoted as saying in a press release issued after the results: “We encountered significant headwinds in the third quarter, driven by the phased cessation of satellite casino operations and intensifying market competition.”
The press release said the group’s third-quarter gross gaming revenue (GGR) market share decreased to 11.8 percent, down from 13.9 percent over the same period of 2024. The firm said that was driven by the “decrease in market share of satellite casinos, which dropped from 5.1 percent to 3.9 percent”.
Most Macau satellites were under the SJM group’s licence. Recent closures, including that of Casino Legend Palace at the end of Wednesday (November 12), mean only six satellites remain in Macau, all of them under the SJM brand.
The Macau operators that directly employ staff at satellites have pledged to the government to absorb those employees into their core business. SJM Holdings’ quarterly operational highlights didn’t give specific commentary on the cost of closing satellites. But the company did mention one benefit: satellite tables can be reassigned to licence holders’ core properties.
Ms Ho noted in her Wednesday comments: “Behind the inevitable disruptions that accompany this transition period, we have been actively realigning our resources, both people and tables, to strengthen our core operations.”
She added: “Our new operating framework is steadily taking shape as planned, positioning SJM to enter 2026 on a stronger footing with a more integrated and resilient platform.”
SJM Holdings’ net revenue declined 6.2 percent year-on-year, to just over HKD7.03 billion in the July to September period. Third-quarter net gaming revenue was down 6.5 percent, at just below HKD6.54 billion.
During the reporting quarter, SJM Holdings’ rolling-business GGR was HKD712 million, a fall of 8.5 percent from the prior-year period.
Non-rolling GGR for the latest reporting quarter was HKD5.74 billion, down 5.9 percent year-on-year. Electronic games GGR was up 11.0 percent, to HKD688 million.
Total revenue at the group’s Cotai resort, Grand Lisboa Palace, was nearly HKD1.91 billion in the third quarter. The complex’s adjusted property EBITDA in the reporting period declined 32.7 percent year-on-year, to HKD111 million.
Grand Lisboa (pictured), the firm’s main Macau peninsula property, outperformed its Cotai sibling in revenue terms, generating HKD2.00 billion, flat from a year ago. Adjusted property EBITDA went down 13.6 percent year-on-year, to HKD471 million.
The group had just under HKD3.45 billion of cash, bank balances, short-term bank deposits and pledged bank deposits and HKD27.31 billion of debt as at September 30.
