SJM Holdings, one of Macau’s major gaming operators, continues to feel the impact of past closures of gambling properties as it reported a loss of around US$52.5 million for the third quarter of 2023. Despite this, the company’s gross gaming revenues remained flat for another quarter at US$730 million.
The loss is mainly attributed to the parent company, as SJM Holdings’ revenues increased more than five times when compared to the levels in Q3 2022. The Grand Lisboa Palace, the company’s resort located in Cotai, played a significant role in the group’s recovery, generating gross gaming revenue of around US$188 million in the quarter. The peninsula integrated resort Grand Lisboa reportedly contributed US$100 million to almost half of the revenues generated by the group’s Cotai property in Q3 2023.
While Grand Lisboa Palace ended the quarter with an Adjusted Property EBITDA loss of US$3.5 million, this was more than eight times lower than the loss of US$29 million experienced in Q3 2022. Similarly, IR Grand Lisboa recorded an Adjusted Property EBITDA of US$47.8 million, against the US$28.6 million EBITDA loss seen in Q3 2022. The group’s total net revenues reportedly bounced by 471% year-on-year to settle at the US$752 million level.
Overall, these figures indicate a complete recovery of SJM’s operations in Macau. This shows that while the losses from 2022 are still reflected in the overall group figures, the revenues across all SJM Macau properties are repeatedly boosted several times over the prior year’s levels. Commenting on the group’s financial result in Q3 2023, SJM Chairman Daisy Ho stated, “SJM Holdings’ results in the third quarter of 2023 show continued growth in Adjusted EBITDA and steady progress in the ramp-up of Grand Lisboa Palace.”
Despite the pandemic-induced losses, SJM Holdings’ operations seem to be bouncing back, with the booming operations at Grand Lisboa Palace offsetting some of the company’s overall losses. This positive trend could indicate a promising forthcoming period for the company.