Success Universe posts swingeing loss for 2015

By
macaubusinessdaily

Success Universe Group Limited, owner of the Ponte 16 hotel and casino, announced a HK$6.7 million (US$864,000) loss for 2015, in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange published yesterday. The group also posted a 67 per cent loss in shared profit of the associates relating to Ponte 16, amounting to roughly HK$29.3 million as compared to the HK$88.1 million received in 2014.
This loss was the main reason given for the decline in the group’s profits with the second resulting from the decrease in operating revenue from the group’s Mainland operation involving the sale of lottery tickets.
Overall, the group recorded revenue of approximately HK$1.01 billion, corresponding to a 23 per cent decrease in the previous year’s recorded HK$1.3 billion. Gross profit also dropped by 55 per cent, reaching HK$37.2 million, compared to 2014’s HK$82.7 million.
In regard to the Macau operation, the group’s profit decline was ‘mainly attributable to certain regional factors, including […] change in spending behaviour arising from the structural change in the composition of tourists to Macau,’ says the report. Additional factors listed were tighter visa restrictions, implementation of the smoking ban in mass market gaming areas, tighter controls on UnionPay cards and the Renmenbi depreciation.
Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxation, Depreciation and Amortisation) amounted to approximately HK$303.7 million.
Revenue from the group’s lottery business amounted to HK$69.6 million for the 2015 year, with the company suffering the same temporary suspension of the ‘paperless lottery sales agency services’ voluntarily committed by the company in line with new regulations by the central government to regulate online ticket sales. The decrease equalled a 65 per cent drop in revenue compared to the previous year’s recorded HK$201.1 million – largely attributed to sports betting on the FIFA World Cup and the suspension. For the segment the group recorded a loss of HK$19.1 million for the year.
The group boasted of hotel occupancy rates averaging ‘over 89 per cent’ for the year. Non-current assets in Macau accounted for HK$967 million at the end of 2015.