Kingston Financial’s local gaming business down 29 pct

Investment holding company Kingston Financial Group Ltd.
saw its gaming business in Macau slide by 29 per cent year-on-year to HK$480.8 million (US$59.9 million) for its fiscal year ended March 31, according to its filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Wednesday after trading hours.
The company, which owns Casa Real Hotel and Grandview Hotel in the city, operates a gaming business in the two properties under the licence of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, S.A. (SJM).
‘While there was a decrease in total gross revenue of Macau’s gaming industry, the performance in the segment was satisfactory and in line with the industry performance,’ the hotel and gaming operator reckons.
As at the end of March, the Hong Kong-listed company operated 61 mass gaming tables, 14 VIP tables and 238 slot machines as well as 134 live baccarat machines in the two hotel properties.
According to its filing, the gaming revenue it generated accounted for nearly 72 per cent of its total hotel and gaming turnover from the Special Administrative Region.
Hotel business
Meanwhile, the company raked in HK$190.8 million in revenues from its hotel operations during the fiscal year, down 27 per cent year-on-year.
It claimed that such a performance is ‘in line with the slowdown of the economy in Macau’.
According to the filing, the average occupancy rate of Casa Real on the Peninsula fell 5 percentage points year-on-year to 82 per cent for the fiscal year, whilst that for Grandview in Taipa dropped eight percentage points to 70 per cent.
‘Given the slowdown in tourist spending and China’s campaign against corruption and luxury spending, we remain conservative as to the outlook of Macau’s hotel and tourism market,’ it said.
Nevertheless, it added that the company expects ‘to see the segment performance stabilise in the coming year . . . supported by the steady demand from international and local markets’.
Surging net profit
During the fiscal year, the company registered a jump of 35 per cent year-on-year in its net profit, amounting to HK$1.7 billion from HK$1.26 billion one year ago.
The jump is driven by its main business – securities brokerage, underwriting and placement services, which soared 66 per cent year-on-year in revenue to HK$710.3 million for the year – in addition to the increased revenues from other business segments such as margin and IPO financing.