Dr Stanley Ho may take issue with journalists for reporting that his personal wealth has fallen during the global financial crisis, but the Macau casino company he chairs is unequivocally still turning a profit—albeit a modest one.
In fact, following the report of Wynn Resorts’ loss for Q4 2008 on the back of capital expenditure on Encore Las Vegas and Encore Macau, it leaves SJM Holdings Ltd as the only one of Macau’s gaming licence holders to be currently returning money to shareholders in the form of dividend.
SJM, which held a 40-year monopoly on casino gaming in Macau until liberalisation of the market in 2002, posted net profit of HKD796.1 million for 2008, down 48.1 percent year on year.
The Hong Kong-listed casino operator said it was proposing a final dividend per share of HKD0.06 for 2008. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation fell to HKD1.6 billion, down 22.4 percent from a year earlier. The company’s gaming revenue fell 12.9 percent to HKD27.99 billion during 2008, largely as a result of a slow down in sales of VIP chips in the second half of 2008. VIP play accounted for 57.1 percent of gaming operations during the year.
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