A new six-year mandate
The annual general meeting of the Company des Bains de Mer (SBM) was held on 18 September. Shareholders present or represented held 92% of the share capital, amounting to more than 600 shareholders. Just over 99% of them approved the accounts for the 2025/2026 financial year, which closed on 31 March. The mandate of Stéphane Valeri, Chairman and CEO since January 2023, was renewed for six years by a very large majority.
Appearing on Monaco Info the same evening, he presented the main figures for the year. Revenue rose by 12% to €861.6m. Operating income increased by 16% to more than €86m, the best in the group’s history. Including income from financial investments, consolidated net income reached €112.9m.
A social model management intends to protect
In the interview, Stéphane Valeri described SBM’s social model as part of its identity. He linked it to the group’s particular position: it holds the gaming monopoly in Monaco, and the Monegasque State is its main shareholder. According to him, management keeps a close eye on the purchasing power of employees, whose pay in hospitality, food and beverage and gaming is higher than at competitors.
The year’s results are translating into several increases. The profit-sharing bonus rises from around €1,700 to just over €2,000 per employee, an increase of about €300. The transport allowance goes up by 25% to €600 a year, to offset soaring fuel prices. Employees also receive a 13th-month salary after two years’ service, a €440 bonus if they work all four days of the Grand Prix, and inflation-indexed salaries. Stéphane Valeri considers this last point essential as inflation picks up again.
The Chairman and CEO says he seeks a balance between the interests of shareholders and those of employees. He stresses that the results are first and foremost the product of the work of the group’s more than 5,000 staff.
Better returns for shareholders
For shareholders, Stéphane Valeri highlights the rise in the share price, from around €85 when he took office to almost €136 on the day of the AGM. The dividend will be €2 per share this year, compared with €1.80 last year and €1.20 three years ago, whereas the group paid none five years ago. Combining share price growth and dividends, he puts the return on investment at around 16% a year over four years.
Performance is also operational. The Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, managed by Louis Starck, features for the second year running in the World’s 50 Best Hotels ranking. According to Stéphane Valeri, with six starred restaurants holding a total of ten Michelin stars, the resort is the most starred in the world.
Courchevel on schedule
Outside Monaco, the Courchevel 1850 project is on schedule, with delivery planned for Christmas 2027. The project designed by Herzog & de Meuron with interior designer Hugo Toro is set to become one of the finest hotels in the Alps. Stéphane Valeri presents it as the group’s first major international challenge, and as a long-term investment in its assets.
International expansion helps raise the brand’s profile, as the Monte-Carlo casinos on board cruise ships also show, and to find new sources of growth. Stéphane Valeri nevertheless insists that Monaco remains management’s absolute priority.
Three floors of residences at the Monte-Carlo Bay
The project to add three storeys to the Monte-Carlo Bay is being led by SBM’s Real Estate Development Department. According to Stéphane Valeri, the group and the Prince’s Government have agreed on the project, and the existing infrastructure will not be altered. SBM will build apartments rather than hotel rooms. The top level will include private pools and gardens.
Stéphane Valeri explains this choice by the saturation of the resort’s shared spaces (restaurants, lagoon and pool) in summer. Adding dozens, or even hundreds, of guests would, in his view, have lowered the quality of service. Works will begin in autumn 2027 and are expected to last between two and a half and three years, with delivery hoped for in 2030.
The “thermes-terrasses”, opposite Place du Casino
The second project is the larger of the two. It is located near Avenue de Monte-Carlo, on a site owned by the group facing Place du Casino and next to the Opera. SBM will demolish the Thermes Marins, which have reached the end of their life cycle, along with the neighbouring building occupied by Rothschild bank until last July.
According to Stéphane Valeri, competition is fierce and the current spa has aged. The future building of around 13,000 sq m will house a modernised spa of around 6,000 sq m, with treatment facilities, a pool and a gym of the highest European standard. Around 2,000 sq m of prestige apartments are planned on the upper floors.
The top level will sit at the height of Avenue de Monte-Carlo, opposite the luxury boutiques already there. It will become a public promenade with gardens, lined with large retail units. Parking, currently at surface level, will be moved to three underground levels. Works will start in autumn 2027 and last four to four and a half years.
No job losses among Thermes staff
All Thermes Marins employees on permanent contracts will be redeployed during the works. Until the reopening, SBM will open its resort facilities to spa clients. At the Hôtel de Paris, the pool will be covered so it can be used in autumn and winter. At the Hôtel Hermitage, the government has authorised the rapid construction of a pool, spa and gym on the terrace above the IM2S. These facilities are due to be ready before the main project begins.
For Stéphane Valeri, the future spa will attract guests in autumn and winter, and so help fill the group’s hotels. He believes it will significantly improve operating income.
Our analysis – The interview reveals the logic followed by management. Record results make it possible to reward both shareholders and employees more generously. For this balance to last, new recurring revenue is needed, which real estate and off-season wellness are expected to provide. Re-elected until the early 2030s, Stéphane Valeri will steer these projects himself. With the reorganisation of the group’s operations and the opening of Courchevel, he is taking SBM into a new phase of development.
At a glance by The Hospitality Tribune
SBM: Stéphane Valeri re-elected for six years, puts social model and Monaco real estate first
Record 2025/2026: revenue up 12% to €861.6m, operating income up 16% to over €86m, dividend raised to €2 per share
Staff profit-sharing rises to just over €2,000 per employee, transport allowance up 25% to €600 a year, salaries indexed to inflation
Monte-Carlo Bay to gain three floors of residences, with works starting in autumn 2027 and delivery targeted for 2030
Thermes Marins to be replaced by a c.13,000 sq m spa, residential and retail complex facing Place du Casino; all permanent staff to be redeployed
