Asian property and junket investor Suncity Group has booked a 62.1% increase in revenue due primarily to its gaming sector for the first six months of 2017, despite group-wide losses surging past RMB1 billion for the period.
In a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Suncity announced revenue of RMB333.21 million (US$50.5 million) for the six months to 30 June, up from RMB205.52 million (US$31.2 million) 12 months earlier, with the boost attributed to “revenue of approximately RMB122.1 million from the provision of travel agency services by Sun Travel Ltd, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary acquired by the Company on 31 August 2016.”
Sun Travel, a luxury travel and entertainment service provider for Suncity’s VIP clientele, contributed 36.64% of the Group’s total revenue for 1H17, it said. The company’s other key segments, property development and property leasing, contributed 54.94% and 8.42% respectively.
Suncity has already made significant strides towards advancing its gaming interests since 30 June, including placing the ownership stake of its integrated resort project in Hoi An, Vietnam into the hands of wholly-owned subsidiary Goal Summit Ltd and signing a memorandum of understanding for another wholly-owned subsidiary, Suncity Group Management and Consultancy Limited, to provide consultancy and management services.
It also announced the launch of a new mobile app, Sun Finance, which will allow its VIP players to book travel and access their accounts directly.
“Regarding the travel agency service, the group is devoted to optimize its business platform [and] broaden its sales channels such as developing its own Online Travel Agency cellphone application in 2017, so as to provide hotel accommodation, tickets reservation service and other travel related products to its customers through the OTA App,” Suncity said.
The group announced losses of RMB1.06 billion for the six months through 30 June, significantly widened from the RMB64.91 million loss in the first six months of 2016.
Suncity attributed the increase in losses to “change in fair value of financial derivatives of approximately RMB697.7 million and loss and provision for litigations in the aggregate amount of approximately RMB411.8 million.”
