Success Universe expands Ponte 16 Project with Macau Palace Casino
Success Universe Group plans to include Macau Palace in the third phase of its Ponte 16 expansion.
Macau.- Success Universe Group, the investor and operator of the Ponte 16 property, has revealed plans for the third phase of its expansion project, which will include the historic Macau Palace casino.
With an estimated investment exceeding MOP100m (US$12.4m), the group will renovate Macau Palace, aiming to transform it into a cultural destination with dining, retail and a gaming culture museum. Discussions with the SAR government are underway to finalise details, and the group is seeking financing options from banks.
Established in 1962 by Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau (STDM), Macau Palace will be relocated from Lam Mau Harbour to No.14 Pier in the Inner Harbour area, adjacent to the Ponte 16 resort. With this announcement, the casino will shift its focus from gambling to entertainment and cultural experiences.
At the annual general meeting, Success Universe Group’s director, Hoffman Ma Ho Man, highlighted signs of recovery in Macau’s tourism industry as the group’s hotel occupancy rate and room prices reached 80 per cent and 85 per cent of 2019 levels.
Ma predicted a quarter-on-quarter increase in Macau’s gaming revenue and anticipated that annual gaming revenue for 2023 will surpass MOP150bn. Success Universe Group’s revenue for 2022 was down 24.1 per cent year-on-year to HK$114.8m, and the company posted a loss attributable to owners of HK$287.1m, down from a HK$4.9m profit in 2021.
The loss was mainly caused by the recognition of a HK$174.1m fair value loss on the group’s overseas-listed equity securities, a fair value loss on investment properties and a write-down of the group’s properties stock of approximately HK$20m (US$2.62m).
For the casino hotel Ponte 16, the company posted negative adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of HK$46.2m (US$5.9m) for the year. The group’s shared loss relating to Ponte 16 decreased by approximately 13 per cent to HK$42.1m (US$5.36m).
