Macau junket investor Rich Goldman Holdings, formerly known as Neptune Group, says it maintains a “positive view” of its Macau gaming future despite losing two if three junket partners in 2017 and seeing a 65% decline in rolling chip turnover for the year.
Outlining the company’s future plans in its interim report for 2017/18, Chairman Danny Huang said that Rich Goldman had set a clear path for its investors, namely “maintaining a presence in the Macau gaming sector.”
It follows the revelation in May 2017 that Venetian Macao Limited (VML) had terminated a promotion agreement with Hao Cai Sociedade Unipessoal Ltd to operate 14 VIP tables at the Venetian and subsequent announcement in August that VML had terminated a second agreement with Hou Wan Entertainment Ltd to operate 10 VIP tables at Sands Macao. Those terminations left Rich Goldman with just one Macau junket partner running eight VIP tables at Grand Lisboa.
Nevertheless, Huang said that the company’s enthusiasm is well founded.
“Our remaining business in Macau has been thankfully surrounded by a nice uptick in the market,” he said in the interim report, released on Monday. “The gaming sector is recording positive growth again supported by industry statistics. That has been well received by all market participants.
“However, compared with the previous strong performance in 2013, it can only be described as a breathing space now, and the return on investment shows a recovery. 2018 is a good start for our group and we hope that seeing that possibility … continue will enable our group to work hard to achieve excellent returns.”
Rich Goldman announced last month a 72% decline in net profit to HK$7.3 million for the six months to 31 December 2017, with revenue down 52.7% to HK$64.2 million due primarily to the contraction of its gaming business.
The company changed its name from Neptune to Rich Goldman in September as part of a corporate restructuring that included branching out into other revenue streams including hotel operations and a money lending business. Revenue from the money lending business for the six months to 31 December 2017 amounted to around HK$5 million, while operation of Harbour Bay Hotel in Kowloon produced revenue of HK$11.7 million.
Rich Goldman said it would continue to explore “other viable investment opportunities to diversify our revenue stream” but added, “We have a positive view on the Macau gaming industry given the numerous growth drivers in the nearly future. It remains one of our important businesses if the recent encouraging growth can persist.”
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