Union Gaming: Grand Lisboa Palace may delay full opening

Grand Lisboa Palace may only partially open in the first quarter of 2021 due to the lack of tourists entering Macau as well as the city’s economic recovery, brokerage Union Gaming Securities LLC suggested.
“SJM is expecting to open Grand Lisboa Palace in first quarter 2021, with the scale of opening in terms of rooms and tables being dictated by market conditions at the time,” wrote analyst John DeCree in the memo, seen by GGRAsia.
“With this in mind, and the current trajectory of the recovery in Macau, we expect a partial opening. […] We suspect the opening of a large portion of the hospitality amenities would be delayed until more significant demand returns to Macau,” he added.
Last month, Executive Director of Sociedade dos Jogos de Macau (SJM) Angela Leong said that both Grand Lisboa Palace and Lisboeta projects may have their openings delayed until next year due to the pandemic.The company then set targets for early next year. The SJM executive noted that logistics were hindered by the Covid-19 pandemic, delaying the opening of the projects. Both projects were initially expected to open by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, the brokerage noted that it expects Grand Lisboa Palace to see a “slower ramp” throughout next year, predicting that it will only be in 2022 where the integrated resort would operate fully. “Given the current environment, we are expecting a slower ramp throughout 2021 and looking forward to 2022 as the first full year of operations,” the brokerage wrote.
Moreover, DeCree has said that the brokerage is forecasting HKD1.86 billion in EBITDA for Grand Lisboa Palace in 2022.