SJM expects to post an attributable loss of HK$7.80 billion ($993.72 million) for the year ended Dec. 31, compared with a loss of HK$4.14 billion reported a year earlier.

It flagged a HK$1.21 billion charge to reflect the cost of refurbishments made to the Jai Alai building - a tourism complex in Macau - over several years.

Still, 2023 is off to a strong start for casino operators in Macau after the world's biggest gambling hub registered a 82.5% jump in gambling revenue to 11.6 billion patacas ($1.44 billion) in January.

Macau has seen a resurgence of tourists from the mainland since Jan. 8 after the territory dropped all COVID-19 testing requirements for inbound travellers from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The strong January revenues were still less than half of the Lunar New Year period in 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak.

($1 = 7.8493 Hong Kong dollars)

($1 = 8.0700 patacas)

(Reporting by Jaskiran Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)