Macau gaming operator SJM Holdings's first-half loss shrank to HK$1.26 billion ($161.3 million), an improvement of 54.1% from a loss of nearly HK$2.76 billion a year earlier, as pre-interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) also returned to positive adjustments for the first time since 2019.
The information was submitted to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday after trading hours. "It continues to make progress in the post-pandemic era," the company said in a separate press release.
Daisy Hochoufeng, president of SJM Holdings and managing director of SJM Resorts SA, Macao concession holder, said in a press release that the latest figures "show a positive adjusted EBITDA period of six months for the first time since 2019."
She first mentioned the group's successful application for a new 10-year game concession that began in January, and second, referring to the HK$39 billion Kotai resort that opened in July 2021 amid the pandemic crisis, adding, "We launched a non-gaming events and investment program with new concessions and continued the expansion of the Grand Lisboa Palace resort. As Macau steadily recovers from the pandemic, we face an optimistic future."
According to a press release, the company accounted for 11.8% of Macau gaming sales in the first half of the year, including 14.9% of the bulk market gross gaming revenue (GGR) and 3.5% of VIP GGR.
It recorded 16.0% of Macau gaming sales in the first half of 2022, including 20.1% of the popular market table GGR and 5.8% of the VIP GGR.
Group performance for the first six months of 2023 increased 126.7% year-on-year to HK$9.36 billion on revenue through June 30.
The 2022 period was affected by travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which were only lifted in January this year.
Net game sales in the first half of this year were just under HK$8.7 billion, up 128.2% year-on-year.
Adjusted EBITDA was HK$461 million, compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of HK$1.18 billion in the first half of 2022, an improvement of 139.2%.
JPMorgan Securities (Asia Pacific) said in a note Monday that its second-quarter group EBITDA represented "an average 43% recovery compared to the second quarter of 2019" and compared with the second-quarter industry "70% recovery" compared to 2019.
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