Emperor Entertainment Hotel to cease Macanese gaming ops

Emperor Entertainment Hotel will cease its gaming operation in Macau in June due to the tough business operating environment arising from the pandemic.

The company said the casino in Grand Emperor Hotel is operated under the gaming concession held by SJM Resorts. As the group has been facing a tough business operating environment since the onset of the pandemic, which resulted in the segment losses of the group for both the year ended 31 March 2021 and the six months ended 30 September 2021, together with the gloomy outlook of the high-end gaming segment, it decided not to renew the service agreements with SJM and to cease the gaming operation of the group.

However, the hospitality business in Grand Emperor Hotel remains. The company said the decision is in the best interest of the company and its shareholders as a whole.

Apart from the gaming business operation, the group currently also engages in the hospitality business in Hong Kong, namely The Emperor Hotel, The Unit Serviced Apartments, and MORI MORI Serviced Apartments. In Macau, the company operates the Grand Emperor Hotel, and Inn Hotel Macau. The hotels and serviced apartments in Hong Kong were acquired by the group in May 2021 to diversify the business lines and broaden the revenue base. For the six months ended on 30 September 2021, the hospitality business accounted for approximately 33.0% of the total revenue and approximately 20.0% only of the total segment loss.

Moving forward, Semon Luk, chairperson of Emperor Entertainment Hotel said, "Given the strategic position of Hong Kong and Macau within the Greater Bay Area, we are optimistic about the outlook of the hospitality sector in the long run after the ease of the anti-pandemic measures and the reopen of the border."

Emperor Entertainment Hotel is part of the Emperor Group. The group's business covers financial services, property, watch and jewellery, entertainment, hospitality, media as well as furniture and furnishing.