Macau casino SJM posts 26 percent rise in first-quarter profit

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Macau casino SJM Holdings posted a 25.8 percent rise in its first-quarter net profit on Wednesday on strong gambling demand in the only place in China where casinos are legal.

SJM, which is controlled by the family of tycoon Stanley Ho, is faced with challenges including an unclear future leadership structure and the delayed opening of its planned $4.6 billion casino resort in the former Portuguese colony of Macau.

SJM is lagging behind other companies, including Sands China and Wynn Macau, which have already completed casino resorts on Macau's fast growing Cotai strip.

Net profit in the first quarter came in at HK$730 million ($93.0 million), while net gaming revenues increased by 6.7 percent to $HK8.4 billion.

 

($1 = 7.8497 Hong Kong dollars)

(Reporting by Farah Master; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)