Australia’s Star Entertainment swings to loss as COVID-19 shut-down bites By Reuters

(Reuters) -Australian casino operator Star Entertainment Group swung to an annual loss on Monday, hurt by long spells of COVID-19-led property and border closures and regulatory reviews.

Since last year, Star has been embroiled in a slew of government probes over possible breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws at its casinos and as a result, saw a major management overhaul.

The Brisbane-based company said it bore the brunt of one-off expenses of about A$168 million ($115.48 million) this fiscal year, which included charges related to underpaid casino duty, impairment of goodwill, and regulatory matters regarding legal defense, among others .

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

“Covid-19 related property shutdowns, operating restrictions and border closures as well as the regulatory reviews materially impacted earnings,” the company said in a statement.

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

Star reported a 6% decrease in revenue from its Sydney operations, Australia’s second largest casino and Star’s major money spinner. Total group revenue for the year was A$1.53 billion, compared with A$1.55 billion last year.

($1 = 1.4548 Australian dollars)