Macau woes hit Aussie gambling group

Aussie gambling group Crown Resorts has posted a dismal half year report for the period ended December 2015, revealing that even its online operations – usually a highlight in gambling firms and including social gaming – sustained an EBITDA loss of A$9.8 million.

The operations included well-established enterprises like CrownBet, Betfair Australasia and DGN Games in 2015.

The downward trend was reflected in the performance of Crown’s land interests, with the group reporting net profit down 22.1 percent y-o-y at A$205 million, and the company blaming poor performances in Macau due to the Chinese government crackdown that has decimated the business in that region.

Rowen Craigie, CEO of the group, reported that overall revenue for Crown Resorts was A$1.9 billion, with the Australian resorts overall reporting better performance than their Macau equivalents, delivering a 4.2 percent increase in normalised revenue to A$1.7 billion for the half year, with a 9.8 percent increase in main floor gaming revenue, and a 3.8 percent decline in VIP program play turnover.

Craigie revealed that Crown’s Macau operations, Melco Crown Entertainment had incurred a 66.3 decline in NPAT (net profit after tax) at A$37.2 million due to weak market conditions.

“Macau continues to experience a challenging period which has adversely affected all casino operators,” Craigie said. “Overall gross gaming revenue across the Macau market in the half year to 31 December 2015 declined 31.1 percent.

“However, MCE has further expanded its market share in Macau and increased its exposure to the more resilient and profitable mass market segments.”

The directors declared a dividend on ordinary shares of 33 cents per share, payable on Apr. 6, 2016.