Emperor Entertainment Hotel Limited (Emperor E) has issued a profit warning for the year ended 31 March 2022 ahead of a net loss expected to total between HK$550 million (US$70 million) and HK$750 million (US$96 million). The company had reported a loss of HK$224 million (US$29 million) for the financial year ended 31 March 2021.
In a Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing, Emperor E said its FY22 result was “due to a significant increase on fair value loss and impairment losses during the year mainly resulting from a revaluation loss of the Group’s investment properties and the expected cessation of its gaming business, to be realised in June 2022 respectively.
The company recently announced plans to cease casino operations at Macau’s Grand Emperor Hotel from 26 June 2022, citing a challenging business environment due to COVID-19 and a gloomy outlook for the VIP gaming sector. Grand Emperor has operated under the license of SJM Resorts since 2010.
Despite the expected losses, Emperor E noted that they are non-cash items and are therefore not expected to have a direct impact on the cash flow or operations of the group.
Final results are expected to be published before the end of June.