Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Video | Agriculture | Confidence | Economy | Energy | Employment | Finance | Media | Property | RBNZ | Science | SOEs | Tax | Technology | Telecoms | Tourism | Transport | Search

 

SkyCity posts lower first-half profit, sees 2H pickup

SkyCity posts lower first half profit as expected, signals earnings growth in second half

By Tina Morrison

Feb. 12 (BusinessDesk) – SkyCity Entertainment Group, New Zealand’s only listed casino company, posted lower first half profit in line with guidance and said earnings will grow in all its businesses in the second half.

Normalised profit was $66.4 million in the six months ended Dec. 31, in line with the $65 million to $68 million forecast in December and down from $72.1 million a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. The figures exclude earnings from the Christchurch casino sold in December 2012. Normalised revenue fell to $467 million from $493.4 million in the year earlier period.

SkyCity, which has four casinos in New Zealand and two in Australia, said it expects earnings growth in the second half year as positive changes at its Adelaide and Darwin casinos outweigh a challenging macro-economic environment in Australia and as the company benefits from a more buoyant New Zealand economy.

“While the 1H14 had been a challenging period due to the high NZD and continued soft consumer spending on both sides of the Tasman, solid progress had been made in establishing the platform for growth and the outlook for 2H14 is encouraging,” chief executive Nigel Morrison said in the statement.

The New Zealand dollar bought an average 88.20 Australian cents in the first half, compared with 78.36 cents in the year earlier period, crimping returns from the company’s Australian units, it said.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

Normalised revenue in January, the first month of the second half, rose 11.9 percent from the year earlier month, SkyCity said. Including the impact of a higher New Zealand dollar, revenue for the month increased 5.4 percent, the company said.

Trading in February has also started well compared to the prior year as the company’s casinos benefited from strong Asian visitation over the Chinese New Year period, which started on Jan. 31, SkyCity said.

(BusinessDesk)

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Business Headlines | Sci-Tech Headlines

 
GenPro: General Practices Begin Issuing Clause 14 Notices

GenPro has been copied into a rising number of Clause 14 notices issued since the NZNO lodged its Primary Practice Pay Equity Claim against General Practice employers in December 2023.More

SPADA: Screen Industry Unites For Streaming Platform Regulation & Intellectual Property Protections

In an unprecedented international collaboration, representatives of screen producing organisations from around the world have released a joint statement.More

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.