New Zealand-based gaming operator SKYCITY Entertainment Group says it expects to record better than expected revenue in the six months to 31 December 2018 due to strong growth in its International VIP segment and improved performance at flagship property SKYCITY Auckland.
The company will announce its final results on 13 February 2019.
In a filing to the Australian Securities Exchange early Tuesday, SKYCITY said it expects to record normalized EBITDA growth of around 10% to NZ$189 million and normalized profit after tax of NZ$97 million, up 11% over the same period in 2017.
However, it warned that actual results would be down on normalized increases due to a low win rate in VIP of just 0.98% – well below the expected win rate of 1.35% and the 1.70% win rate it achieved in the prior year period.
SKYCITY previously reported a 10.4% rise in net profit to NZ$169.9 million in the year ended 30 June 2018 on the back of a rapid recovery of the company’s VIP sector following the arrests of 19 Crown Resorts employees in mainland China in late 2016.