Fitch Ratings has downgraded SJM Holdings Limited, lowering the Macau gaming operator’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating to ‘B+’ from ‘BB-’, citing a slower-than-expected leverage improvement path following market share losses from the closure of satellite casinos and weak performance at Grand Lisboa Palace.
The rating agency also downgraded the senior unsecured rating and the rating on outstanding notes issued by subsidiary SJM International Limited to ‘B’ from ‘BB-’, with a Recovery Rating of ‘RR5’. The outlook is stable.
‘The downgrade reflects Fitch’s view that SJMH’s leverage trajectory is no longer consistent with its previous rating level,’ the agency said, adding that leverage metrics are expected to remain outside its ‘BB-’ threshold over the next two years.
Fitch forecasts SJM’s EBITDA leverage to improve to 7.8 times in 2026 and 6.5 times in 2027, from more than 9 times in 2025. However, this would remain well above the agency’s previous downgrade threshold of 5.0 times.
The agency expects Fitch-adjusted EBITDA to rise to HK$3.7 billion ($472.1 million) in 2026 and HK$4.2 billion ($535.9 million) in 2027, compared with HK$3.0 billion ($382.8 million) in 2025 and HK$900 million ($114.8 million) in the first quarter of 2026.
SJM’s market share fell to 9.6 percent in the first quarter of 2026, below Fitch’s previous 2026 assumption of 10.7 percent. The agency said management is seeking to improve the utilization of returned satellite tables by opening new gaming areas at Grand Lisboa Palace and Casino Lisboa.
Fitch also noted continued weakness at Grand Lisboa Palace, where mass-market volume growth slowed to 3 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2025 and declined 1 percent in the first quarter of 2026. The agency expects the property’s market share to remain at around the mid-2 percent level.
