Success Universe issues loss warning after Ponte 16 casino closure

[Photo: Ricaela Diputado]

Success Universe Group Ltd., the latest Macau-linked operator to issue a 2026 profit warning, said its first-half loss is set to widen by 50% to 70% after the closure of the Ponte 16 casino.

In a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday, the company said its unaudited consolidated loss for the six months ended June 30 is expected to reach between HKD51 million and HKD57.8 million, up from HKD34 million a year earlier.

The deterioration follows the Nov. 29, 2025, shutdown of Casino Ponte 16, which operated under SJM Resorts’ gaming concession.

The closure came after Macau’s revised gaming framework required satellite casinos to either be owned and managed directly by a concessionaire or cease operations.

SJM Holdings, which holds a 51% stake in Pier 16 – Property Development, the joint venture behind Ponte 16, decided not to acquire the property.

Success Universe owns the remaining 49%.

Success Universe said the result was “a consequence of the cessation of the operation of Casino Ponte 16 on 29 November 2025, while the Group shared a profit of the Associates of approximately HK$49 million for the last corresponding period.”

“Notwithstanding a decrease in fair value loss on the Group’s overseas listed equity securities, the increase in the Group’s unaudited consolidated loss for the six months ended 30 June 2026 was mainly attributable to the Group’s share of a loss of the associates relating to Ponte 16, the flagship investment project of the Group,” the profit warning reads.

In the first half of 2025, associates including Ponte 16 contributed about HKD 49 million in profit. This year, those same associates recorded a loss after gaming operations ended late last year.

Moreover, the warning comes just days after fellow former satellite operator Paradise Entertainment Ltd. issued a similar alert following the shutdown of its Kam Pek Paradise casino on the Macau peninsula.

Despite the setback, Success Universe has insisted it remains committed to its investment in Ponte 16. Earlier this year, the company said it would continue to support the property’s non-gaming operations even as the casino floor closed in line with government regulations.