SJM revenue down, profits up as mass market gaming outperforms VIP

Macau casino operator SJM Holdings posted improved profits in Q3, despite year-on-year declines in both VIP gaming turnover and win rate.

Figures released Tuesday show SJM’s gaming revenue hitting just under HKD 10b (US $1.29b) in the three months ending September 30, a fall of 11% from the same period last year. SJM’s share of Macau’s overall gaming revenue fell to 18.7% from 21.3% in Q3 2015.

SJM’s earnings were down 8.4% to HKD 810m while profit improved 80.2% to HKD 513m thanks to the absence of some significant impairment charges in Q3 2015. For the first nine months of 2016, gaming revenue is off 17.8%, earnings are down 22.3% and profit fell 22.4%.

VIP gaming turnover in Q3 was down only 5% year-on-year to HKD 152b but VIP revenue slipped 19.1% to HKD 4.4b thanks to win rate falling from 3.36% in Q3 2015 to 2.89%. SJM’s total number of VIP tables fell from 458 to 323 over the same period.