According to a report published by brokerage firm Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd. last Friday, SJM will continue to see its share of gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Macau continue to shrink next year. This is in spite of the company’s first resort to be opened in Cotai in 2019, the Grand Lisboa Palace (GLP).

The authors of the report, financial analysts Zhen Gong, Kelsey Zhu and Vitaly Umansky, said, “While we forecast a resumption in EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation] growth and margin expansion after Grand Lisboa Palace opens, in the mid-term, we expect SJM’s share in GGR will continue dropping, to an estimated 14.1 percent in 2019 and share in EBITDA will drop to 4.6 percent.”

SJM has seen its GGR continue to decrease over the past seven years. In 2011, it reported GGR of 29%, which fell to 16.1% by 2017. The casino operator hasn’t seen an increase since 2010, the year that it announced it was the leader among the six Macau casino operators with 31.3% of the city’s total GGR.

The GLP, which is reportedly costing SJM $4.6 billion to complete, is expected to open in the latter half of next year. SJM CEO So Shu Fai said last month that the casino would help the company recover some of the losses it has seen in the market share. However, this view is not supported by Bernstein.