Australia and New Zealand gaming operator SkyCity has announced that it’s set aside some AU$45 million ($29.25 million) as a provision for possible civil penalties and legal costs resulting from an investigation by Australia’s financial watchdog.
The provision is only for the financial year ending June 30th, 2023, with SkyCity noting that “considerable uncertainty remains regarding the amount of any civil penalty SkyCity Adelaide may be required to pay’.
This amount could be ‘significantly higher or lower than the provision’, and the group notes that the timing ‘is also uncertain’.
The group in February warned that the AUSTRAC proceedings could take up to two years, with the group still possibly facing other penalties from state authorities over its past activities.
The group also notes that its ‘Adelaide casino license has been impaired by AU$45.6 million ($29.63 million)’, however it states that the impairment and provision ‘are non-cash, and do not impact normalized earnings for Skycity’s FY23 financial statements’.
The group notes its earnings remain ‘in line’ with its previous May estimates of NS$300-310 million ($179.63-185.66 million) in normalized EBITDA for FY23, despite the figures still remaining subject to external audit.
SkyCIty states that ‘the proceedings remain at a relatively early stage with AUSTRAC’ and that the two are ‘working towards agreeing facts and potential admissions’ before ‘any potential penalty’ is then determined.
The group is set to release its full-year financial statements on August 23rd.
