SJM Holdings posts US$188.5m net loss for H1

The Macau casino operator has reported a net loss of nearly HKD1.47bn (US$ 188.5m) for the first six months of the year.

Macau.- SJM Holdings has reported that revenue in the first six months of the year was up 19 per cent year-on-year to HKD5.22bn.

Adjusted EBITDA came in at HKD510m in the second quarter with a negative margin of 9.8 per cent, compared with a negative 22.5 per cent from the previous year period, while net losses reached HKD1.47bn (US$ 188.5m).

The company said that despite the Covid-19 pandemic, “certain results showed improvement in comparison with the first half of 2020.”

Net gaming revenue was up 18.8 per cent year-on-year to HKD5.08bn while mass-market table GGR was up 33.2 per cent to HKD4.39bn. VIP gross revenue for the first half stood at HKD855.6m, down 37.5 per cent, while revenue from slot machines was up 12.7 per cent year-on-year to HKD264.6m.

SJM opened one of the Grand Lisboa Palace‘s hotel towers last week after a long delay. Daisy Ho Chiu Fung, SJM chairman and executive director, said the venue received approval for 150 gaming tables and that the second phase launch will depend on the pandemic and travel restrictions. 

She said: “We hope that by the end of this year we should be able to open up entirely.”

When complete, Grand Lisboa Palace will have around 2,000 hotel rooms split between three venues: The Lisboa Palace Hotel, Palazzo Versace Macau, and Karl Lagerfeld Hotel luxury boutique hotel. It will have 27,000 square metres of gaming floor space (290,000 sq ft) for up to 700 gaming tables and 1,200 electronic gaming machines.

Daisy Ho Chiu Fung has predicted the venue could take 12 months to break even.