SJM gaming profits surge 56.8 percent

SJM Holdings yesterday announced that its unaudited consolidated interim results for the six-month period ending June 30 showed  that the group’s net gaming revenue increased 9.6 percent year-on-year. The figures also show that profit attributable to the company’s owners surged by 56.8 percent.

For the same period, the group’s adjusted EBITDA grew by almost 30 percent from a year earlier.

For the six-month period ending June 30, mass market gross gaming revenue increased by 13.3 percent, while VIP revenue edged up just 1.4 percent. At the same time, slot machine gross revenue increased by 12 percent year-on-year.

According to the company, SJM controlled a 15.1 percent share of Macau’s gaming revenue over the six- month period, including 20.2 percent of the mass market and 12.2 percent of VIP.

The group’s flagship casino Grand Lisboa increased its gaming revenue and attributable profit by 8.1 percent and 41 percent respectively, as compared with a year ago. Its occupancy rate increased by 3 percent from a year earlier to 96.3 percent, while the average daily room rate decreased by 4.6 percent to HKD1,503.

Meanwhile, construction of the Grand Lisboa Palace continued in the first half of 2018. Despite several setbacks, the group is striving for the construction to conclude by the end of the year and to seek the relevant licenses “as soon as possible thereafter.”

SJM said that the group maintains a “strong financial position” with cash, bank balances and pledged bank deposits amounting to HKD21.9 billion as of June 30, 2018.

An interim dividend of HK8 cents per ordinary share has been declared, according to the company.