SJM Holdings reported a 4.5% increase in profit attributable to owners of the company to HK$738 million and 3.4% increase in Adjusted EBITDA to HK$950 million in 3Q19, despite suffering a 13.3% year-on-year decline in gross gaming revenue.
The company’s GGR of HK$9.49 billion was largely due to a substantial decrease in VIP, which saw a 44.0% decline in rolling chip volume to HK$93 billion and 42.6% decline in GGR to HK$2.89 billion. VIP win rate increased slightly compared to the same period in 2018 to 3.1%.
Conversely, mass market GGR grew 12.1% to HK$6.31 billion while slot machine GGR rose 4.6% to HK$298 million. Group-wide net revenue declined 3.2% to HK$8.06 billion.
SJM’s results were largely reflected by the performance of its flagship peninsula property Grand Lisboa, which saw Adjusted EBITDA increase 5.7% to HK$524 million in 3Q19 despite a 33.0% fall in GGR to HK$2.80 billion.
The group’s self-promoted casinos – Casino Lisboa, Casino Oceanus at Jai Alai and Casino Taipa – saw GGR increase 1.7% to HK$1.63 billion while its satellite casinos reported a 2.1% decline in GGR to HK$5.06 billion.
SJM recently revealed that the opening of its Cotai IR, Grand Lisboa Palace, had been further delayed until late 2020 with construction budget increased from HK$36 billion to HK$39 billion.
In Tuesday’s 3Q19 financial update, the company said Grand Lisboa Palace is now “nearing completion and the Group expects pre-operating government inspections to begin shortly.”