Briefs | Unemployed number drops to under 7,000

For the three-month period ending January 2018, the general unemployment rate (1.8 percent) and the unemployment rate of local residents (2.4 percent) both dropped 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous period (ending December 2017), according to the latest data from the Statistics and Census Service. Meanwhile, the underemployment rate was 0.4 percent, up by 0.1 percentage points. At the end of January, the total labor force was 382,800 with some 376,000 people employed. Analyzed by industry, employment in the gaming and junket sector registered small increase, while that in construction decreased marginally. The number of the unemployed was about 6,900, down by 200 from the previous period. Fresh labor force entrants searching for their first job accounted for 9.9 percent of the total unemployed, down by 2.7 percentage points.

UM receives Takuo Sugano Award

The University of Macau’s (UM) State Key Laboratory of Analog and Mixed-Signal VLSI has designed an innovative microelectronic chip, which can turn a wireless power receiver into a wireless power transmitter without additional hardware support. According to a statement issued yesterday by the UM, the paper received the 2017 Takuo Sugano Award for Outstanding Far-East Paper at the recently held Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 65th International Solid-State Circuits Conference.

SJM results showsteep fall in profit

SJM Holdings yesterday announced its 2017 annual results showing that gaming revenue of the group edged up 0.1 percent from the previous year to HKD41.29 billion. On the other hand, adjusted EBITDA amounted to just over HKD3.07 billion, a decrease of 10 percent from the previous year, and profit attributable to owners of the company was HKD1.96 billion, a decrease of 15.6 percent from 2016. The operator had a 16.1 percent share of Macau’s gaming revenue, including 20.8 percent of mass-market table gaming revenue and 13.6 percent of VIP gaming revenue. A statement issued by the company noted that a final dividend of HKD0.15 per share has been proposed and will be reviewed at the forthcoming annual general meeting. If approved, the total dividends for 2017 – including an interim dividend of HKD0.05 per share paid in September – would be HKD0.20 per share.

Galaxy Group: 58 percent increase for April dividend

Galaxy Entertainment Group yesterday reported its financial results for the year of 2017. The results show that full-year group revenue increased by 18 percent year-on-year to HKD62.5 billion, with adjusted EBITDA increasing 37 percent to HKD14.1 billion. Part of the rise was attributed by the group to a “lucky” fourth quarter last year that increased adjusted EBITDA by approximately HKD52 million. Meanwhile, full-year net profit attributable to shareholders soared 67 percent to HKD10.5 billion. The company said that its cash and liquid investments amounted to HKD41.4 billion and its net cash was HKD31.7 billion as of December 31. It held liabilities of HKD9.7 billion. GEG paid two special dividends last year, HKD0.26 per share in April and HKD0.33 per share in October. The group subsequently announced another special dividend of HKD0.41 per share payable in April 2018, up 58 percent compared to last year.