Société des Bains de Mer presents annual financial report
“The 2023/2024 result is a continuation of the previous one and confirms the relevance of our offering and the strength of our positioning in a highly competitive market,” says Stéphane Valeri @ Monte-Carlo SBM – Alain Duprat
Stéphane Valeri, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer, outlined the key figures for the SBM Group in 2023/2024, at a press conference held on Wednesday, May 29.
The assessment of the SBM’s past year was very positive, as the figures showed the best financial result in the group’s history! Stéphane Valeri confirmed a 6% increase in turnover with €704 million and a €1.4 million increase in operating income with €73.6 million, despite lower targets than the previous year since the SBM carried out more investments in 2023/2024.
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“We are satisfied with the group’s high level of performance. These results confirm the robustness of our business model, which is founded on the complementarity of our different activities. Whether it’s gaming, hospitality or rental activities, each sector is contributing to our growth in turnover, with significant synergies.
The new governance at Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer, with the reorganisation that began at the start of the financial year, is undeniably having a positive effect on our business, taking into account the creation of two new divisions, international development and property development, which will reap the benefits of their investments in the medium term,” he said.
Real estate
According to Mr. Valeri, the rental sector is clearly the SBM’s best performer. Thanks to the increase in average rents as well as an occupancy rate that is close to 100%, the sector is the group’s biggest earner, with operational income growing from €83.7 to €90.8 million.
“This year, rental revenues were up 9% to €135.4 million, driven by an optimised occupancy rate and the positive impact of rent indexation,” he said.
Hotels
As for hotel revenues, the SBM saw a 6% increase to €345.1 million, thanks to an increase of nearly 8% in room prices and a particularly successful summer season that also extended into the second half of the financial year. This is in large part due to a loyal clientele from the United States and Canada in first position, then from France and the Middle East, followed by the United Kingdom, Ireland and Switzerland.
“If we look at the breakdown, the Finance Department tells us that it is very complex to allocate overheads accurately between hotels and restaurants because certain staff positions work for both, but we can say that, in general terms, we make money by renting rooms and we lose money managing our restaurants,” the Group’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer explains.
Restaurants
With the new Café de Paris and l’Amazónico opening, promotional spending, the “soft opening” events for the staff, as well as an increase in personnel costs in line with business growth and the quest for excellence in service quality, several millions were invested this year without profit.
Although the restaurant sector represents a considerable cost for the group, the return on investment is expected in the coming year, as both of the two new establishments mentioned above have started out very strongly, thanks in particular to the Grand Prix.
“The Café de Paris and the Amazónico performed exceptionally well during this year’s Grand Prix. We also opened Maona last July. In fact, the entire Scuderia Ferrari took over the premises last Thursday for a private function. The Grand Prix generates incredible spin-offs in terms of image but also for the economy, and the SBM’s performance was on a par with Charles Leclerc’s victory.”
Gaming
At a time when international gambling regulations have become more stringent, the SBM has had to turn away many customers at the Casino who could not provide a cast-iron guarantee of the source of their funds. Regulations that deprived the group of several tens of millions of euros in turnover.
“We had to turn away some very large clients who no longer met the standards. It is therefore all the more remarkable that turnover in the gaming sector grew from €215 to €221.3 million. We are now targeting the right invitation amount compared to the client’s real spending potential. We have also been much more stringent on loans, with far fewer arrears than before,” says Stéphane Valeri.
Projects and ambitions
For the first time in the group’s history, the SBM acquired a hotel abroad: the ‘Palace des Neiges’ in Courchevel 1850. Mr. Valeri’s ambition is to make it the finest palace in the Alps.
“Our aim is to deliver the hotel for winter 2026. It is important that the SBM is successful in this our first foreign venture, delivering a hotel of the highest quality, with an incredible spa and exceptional suites. Courchevel is unquestionably the right location for a very high-level international clientele, which could also be our clientele in Monaco.”
The SBM has also signed an agreement with the Dream International group, a world leader in luxury party restaurants, to create a Monegasque restaurant brand, the first of which will open in Dubai in 2025. It will be a Mediterranean-inspired Monegasque restaurant, both in terms of the cuisine and the decor.
However, Monaco remains Stéphane Valeri’s priority, with renovations in the pipeline for a number of establishments, including the Hermitage and the Monte-Carlo Bay, an investment of several hundred million euros upon completion.
For the new year 2024/2025, the forecast is as high as last year, with many festivities and real estate projects to come in the Principality.