Hotel-casino builder posts 20pc decline in net profit

Macau Success, which is building the Ponte 16 hotel-casino project in the former Portuguese enclave, saw net income fall 20.4 per cent in the year to September after offloading non-core businesses, including its construction and retailing units.

Profit dropped to $12.29 million from $15.44 million in the previous year, the company said yesterday.

Sales tumbled 47.43 per cent to $100.9 million from $191.95 million a year earlier.

The company is building the $2 billion Ponte 16 development near the Zhuhai border in a venture with Stanley Ho Hung-sun's Sociedade de Jogos de Macau.

Macau Success also leases out a cruise ship used for gambling trips and is involved in loan agreement with King Seiner Palace, a VIP gambling rooms operator.

Under the deal, Macau Success is entitled to 20 per cent interest on the $50 million loan it made to King Seiner Palace or a maximum of 18 per cent of the net VIP rooms profit, whichever is higher.

Macau Success deputy chairman William Chan said earnings contributed by King Seiner Palace - about $288 million - would be fully reflected in the current financial year.

The company's stock yesterday fell 3.17 per cent to close at 61 cents. The stock has fallen 56 per cent in the past 12 months.