Australia’s Star Entertainment in the red as COVID-19 shuts down

The Sydney Starlight Casino complex is illuminated on the evening of February 15, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Reed

Aug 22 (Reuters) – Australian casino operator Star Entertainment Group (SGR.AX) The annual loss on Monday was driven by prolonged COVID-19-led property and border closures and regulatory scrutiny.

Since last year, Star has been embroiled in a series of government probes into possible breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws by its casinos, leading to major management changes. read more

The Brisbane-based company said the first one-off charge for the financial year was about A$168 million ($115.48 million), including related to underpayment of casino tax, impairment of goodwill and regulatory matters for legal defense. cost.

The annual loss came even as Star said in an earlier trading update that earnings for the June quarter witnessed a strong recovery above pre-COVID levels, with all of its properties open on an unrestricted basis.

“COVID-19-related property closures, operational restrictions and border closures, and regulatory scrutiny have had a significant impact on earnings,” the company said in a statement.

The country’s second-largest casino operator said its net loss after tax was A$198.6 million, compared with a profit of A$57.9 million last year.

Star reported a 6 per cent drop in revenue from its Sydney business, Australia’s second-largest casino and Star’s main cash cow. Total group revenue for the year was A$1.53 billion, compared to A$1.55 billion last year.

(1 USD = 1.4548 AUD)

Reporting by Roushni Nair and Jaskiran Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Diane Craft

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