Macau casino giant SJM Holdings beat analysts’ profit estimates in 2013 as gaming revenue rose 10% to HK$86.96 billion (US$11.15 billion) on strong growth in play across all sectors.
Net income was up 14% to HK$7.71 billion, surpassing the $7.58 billion average of 15 analysts polled by Bloomberg.
Fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA rose 24.5% to HK$2.37 billion, beating the $2.34 billion average of nine analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
The company has proposed a special dividend of 30 Hong Kong cents a share and a final dividend of 50 cents share.
Hong Kong-listed SJM (HKSE: 0880), Macau’s largest operator with 20 of its 35 casinos, saw its market-leading share of gaming revenue slip to 24.8% compared with 26.7% in 2012 as the center of gravity of the city’s $45 billion gambling boom continues to shift away from the Macau peninsula to the newer and larger resorts operating in the Cotai tourist district between the neighboring islands of Taipa and Coloane.
Still, SJM grew mass-market table gaming revenue by 13% last year and VIP by 9.4%.
Earlier this month, the company broke ground on its own Cotai resort, Lisboa Palace, and expects to open the doors of the HK$30 billion French-themed property in 2017.
