HK casino operator SJM sees bigger 2022 loss on Covid travel curbs

HONG Kong-listed casino operator SJM Holdings on Monday (Mar 6) forecast a bigger loss for fiscal 2022, hurt by Covid travel restrictions imposed in gambling hub Macau and a significant impairment charge.

SJM expects to post an attributable loss of HK$7.80 billion (S$1336.3 million) for the year ended Dec 31, compared with a loss of HK$4.14 billion reported a year earlier.

It flagged a HK$1.21 billion charge to reflect the cost of refurbishments made to the Jai Alai building – a tourism complex in Macau – over several years.

Still, 2023 is off to a strong start for casino operators in Macau after the world’s biggest gambling hub registered a 82.5 per cent jump in gambling revenue to 11.6 billion patacas (S$1.9 billion) in January.

Macau has seen a resurgence of tourists from the mainland since Jan 8 after the territory dropped all Covid-19 testing requirements for inbound travellers from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The strong January revenues were still less than half of the Lunar New Year period in 2019, before the Covid-19 outbreak. REUTERS