Macau, China, Aug. 28, 2025 (Lusa) - Macau gaming concessionaire SJM Holdings acknowledged on Thursday that it made a loss again in the first half of 2025, after starting the year with a profit.
In a statement sent to the Hong Kong stock exchange, the company revealed a loss of 182 million Hong Kong dollars (€20 million) during the first half of this year, 12.3% more than in the same period of 2024.
Between January and March, the group founded by the late gambling tycoon Stanley Ho Hung Sun had recorded a profit of 31 million Hong Kong dollars (€3.51 million).
SJM ended 2024 with a profit of three million Hong Kong dollars (€364,000), after unprecedented losses for four consecutive years.
The operator's casinos collected 14.8 billion Hong Kong dollars (approximately €1.63 billion) in the first half of 2025, representing a 7.5% increase over the same period last year.
Non-gaming revenues rose 11.9% to over 1 billion Hong Kong dollars (€111.2 million).
Despite the increase in revenue, the company's operating profit fell by 5.1% to 1.65 billion Hong Kong dollars (€180.9 million).
SJM's debt increased again in the second quarter, reaching 27.3 billion Hong Kong dollars (€3 billion) at the end of June, up 2% on the end of March.
In June, the financial rating agency Fitch Ratings maintained its rating of SJM's debt, despite the concessionaire's decision to end the operation of seven “satellite casinos” by December 31.
The “satellite casinos”, under the control of three of the six gaming concessionaires operating in Macau, are managed by other companies and are a legacy of the Portuguese administration that existed before gambling was liberalised in the territory in 2002.
When the legislation regulating casinos was amended in 2022, the end of 2025 was set as the deadline for these gaming centres to cease operating.
SJM decided to attempt to acquire ownership of the hotels where two “satellite casinos” are located - Ponte 16 and Casino Royal Arc - and request that the authorities take direct management of the spaces.
The mass market, whose revenues increased by 7.1%, accounted for 83% of the total revenues of all SJM casinos, while VIP gaming revenues declined by 6.6% in the first half.
High-stakes gambling, which in 2019 accounted for 46.2% of the Macau gaming industry's revenue, was affected by the arrest of the leader of the world's largest VIP betting company in November 2021.
Suncity's former government director, Alvin Chau Cheok Wa, was sentenced in January 2023 to 18 years in prison.
Also today, SJM announced that it will pay 529 million Hong Kong dollars (approximately €58 million) to its parent company, Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau, to acquire part of the Lisboa hotel and thus expand the existing casino on the property.
VQ/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
