Emperor Entertainment Hotel Ltd, which operates Macau’s Grand Emperor Hotel and Inn Hotel Macau, says it expects to report a loss of up to HK$160 million (US$20.6 million) for the six months to 30 September 2020 due to restrictions on visitors allowed into Macau.
Providing a profit warning to investors, the Hong Kong-listed company said the net loss attributable to owners of the Company would be “not more than HK$160.0 million for the period, compared with a net profit of HK$177.2 million (US$22.9 million) for the same period last year.
Emperor Entertainment said the expected loss was “mainly attributable to a significant decrease of around 90% of the Group’s gaming revenue due to a drastic decrease in the number of patrons during the period, which was a result of the travel restrictions and health quarantine arrangements for inbound travelers against the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The company had previously reported a 17.2% drop in group-wide revenue to HK$1.14 billion (US$147 million) and 28.2% decline in net profit to HK$263.9 million (US$34.1 million) for the financial year ended 31 March 2020, primarily as a result of falling VIP gaming revenue.
Emperor Entertainment Hotel Ltd, also known as Emperor E, is a subsidiary of Emperor Group – the luxury watch retailer run by long-time Stanley Ho ally Albert Yeung. Grand Emperor Hotel is located on the Macau peninsula just a stone’s throw from SJM’s Grand Lisboa.