Southeast Asian casino operator Donaco International Ltd says it burned through US$380,408 per month due the impact of COVID-19 in the three months to 30 September 2021, although the cash burn was “well within the targeted range.”
According to a trading update filed with the ASX on Friday morning, Donaco – which operates Star Vegas in Poipet, Cambodia and Aristo International in northern Vietnam – had budgeted for cash burn of between US$800,000 and US$900,000 per month but was able to improve on that target due to targeted cost control measures.
The reduced cash burn came despite Star Vegas remaining closed throughout the quarter, while Aristo operated at limited capacity. As a result, revenue of AU$760,000 (US$572,000) was almost entirely generated from Donaco’s Vietnam operated with a group-wide EBITDA loss of AU$1 million (US$753,000).
“This was another challenging quarter for Donaco as the impacts of COVID-19 continued to linger on our casinos and the broader communities in which we operate,” said non-executive Chairman Porntat Amatavivadhana.
“During the quarter we focussed on positioning the company optimally to target significant growth once the external conditions improve by proactively reducing our Mega Bank debt to preserve a robust balance sheet and maintaining prudent cost control.
“There are positive indications that COVID restrictions relevant to the region star Vegas operate sin will ameliorate in the near-term with the governments of Thailand and Cambodia both outlining reopening plans following strong vaccination rates in the two countries.
“Vaccination rates in Vietnam gave also been starting to ramp up substantially since September, which is a highly positive sign for our Aristo casino.”