GGRAsia – SJM shareholder profit slips 13 pct in 2014

SJM shareholder profit slips 13 pct in 2014

Feb 25, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

SJM Holdings Ltd on Wednesday said its annual profits attributable to shareholders slipped nearly 13 percent year-on-year in 2014.

Such profits dropped 12.7 percent to approximately HKD6.73 billion (US$867.8 million), from approximately HKD7.71 billion a year earlier.

Nonetheless the firm recommended a final dividend of HKD0.62 per share. Combined with an interim dividend of HKD0.22 paid in September, it takes investor dividends for 2014 to the equivalent of HKD0.84 per share, said SJM Holdings. It added that was equal to 70.4 percent of diluted earnings per share.

Gaming revenue for full-year 2014 decreased by 8.8 percent to approximately HKD79.27 billion, from HKD86.96 billion in 2013, the company said. VIP gaming revenue declined by 17.3 percent year-on-year in 2014, while revenue from the mass-market segment increased by 8.9 percent, the company said.

As at December 31, SJM Holdings had 567 VIP gaming tables in operation and 1,214 mass-market gaming tables.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2014 decreased by 10.5 percent to just over HKD7.76 billion.

During the year SJM Holdings claimed an overall gaming market share – based on gross gaming revenue – of 23.2 percent.

Casino Grand Lisboa (pictured) contributed gaming revenue of approximately HKD29.59 billion for the year, said the company; a decrease of 8.3 percent over the previous year. The venue’s adjusted property EBITDA was HKD4.27 billion, a decrease of 8.2 percent over the previous year.

Grand Lisboa Hotel’s occupancy rate decreased by 3.2 percent to 93.2 percent for the full year, whilst its average room rate increased by 4.0 percent to HKD2,325.

Hotel, catering and other income decreased by 22.4 percent to HKD971 million. The firm said that reflected the one-off gain of HKD149 million seen in 2013 from the group’s investment in Macau casino services firm Macau Legend Development Ltd; and a decrease in fair value of financial assets of HKD140 million in 2014.

The group maintained what it described as a “strong” balance sheet, with cash and bank balances totalling approximately HKD24.42 billion as at December 31, 2014.

SJM Holdings said in the results announcement that its Cotai project Lisboa Palace is “on track for opening in 2017”. In a filing earlier this month, it had referred only to the project being “completed in the fourth quarter of 2017″.

Ambrose So Shu Fai, chief executive of SJM Holdings, said in a statement accompanying the annual results: “2014 proved to be a challenging time for Macau’s gaming industry, particularly the second half. Nevertheless, the efforts of our team and the appeal of our products enabled SJM to maintain the number one position in our industry as well as to make significant progress in construction of the Lisboa Palace on Cotai.”