The Annual General Meeting of the Société des Bains de Mer (SCM) was held in Monaco at the Hermitage Hotel at the end of September. It approved the accounts closed as of March 31, 2016.
The results were then presented to the press by Mr. Jean-Luc Biamonti, chairman of the SBM.
It shows that the turnover for the 2015-2016 fiscal year reached € 461.4 million, a slight increase (+ 2%) although the hotel sector is heavily penalized by the work undertaken at the Hôtel de Paris.
The Group’s operating results remained stable, with a deficit of € 31 million, mainly related to the renovation of the Hotel de Paris, which resulted in a reduced capacity, and the new collective agreement on pension matters for staff in the table games sector. These elements are however offset by the growth of gaming machines and recovery of online games (partnership with BetClick Everest Group).
The General Assembly decided not to distribute dividend and authorized the Board of Directors to repurchase shares of the Company up to 5% of the share capital, at a maximum price of € 60 per share and a maximum of € 45 million, for a period of 18 months from September 23, 2018.
Mr. Biamonti said that the tragic events of Nice did not have an impact on visitors to its institutions, except on last minute reservations, which have resumed back to normal. However, the normal hotel business will resume at the end of the renovation works and extension of the Hotel de Paris, rebuilding of the Sporting d’Hiver and redevelopment of the Place du Casino, scheduled for 2018.
Given the situation and the tragic events of Nice, operating income for the 2016-2017 fiscal year should mark a decline from the previous year. This is the trend shown in the first half of the current financial year (March to September), with a satisfactory hotel business but declining numbers for games. The priority is on the revival of the games business with marketing actions and on a cost reduction policy.
Among the measures being implemented, the creation of a training school for 18 students is planned for October: it will aim to familiarize staff with changing table games influenced by Asian customers. In this respect, the entry of Galaxy Chinese capital group of SBM at 5% to orient the group’s expansion into Asia; a Café de Paris clone scheduled to open in Macau in 2017 and similar operations could be considered.
Finally, note that for a year, the Café de Paris Casino which has been open 24/7 has been an unexpected success and generates high profitability to the institution.
