Embattled casino group Crown Resorts is heading for a statutory loss for the 2020-21 financial year and the chances are the 2021-22 result won’t be much better given the recent revelations of tax avoidance and money laundering activities by the Victorian Royal Commission into the company’s Crown casino in Melbourne.
But Crown told the ASX on Monday that as yet it is unable to say precisely how large the loss for 2020-21 is going to be.
It’s guidance for the new financial year was vague and unfocused as the company grapples with the royal Commission in Melbourne, a similar inquiry in Perth about its casino there and the impasse in Sydney over the start date for its Barangaroo casino.
All this saw the shares ease 1.6% to $11.72 on Monday. Mooted offers from rival Star, and US groups such as Apollo and Blackstone, seem to have faded.
The company told the ASX Monday morning that the loss will be due to a combination of COVID-related closures, capacity limits and physical distancing protocols, not to mention the cost of multiple inquiries into its business operations, especially in Victoria and WA.
Crown said it expects to report “theoretical” earnings before closure and significant Items of between $240 million and $250 million, less than half of the $503.8 million recorded in FY20.
Theoretical earnings after closure costs, but before significant items, should be between $90 million and $100 million, which tantamount to a loss given it is so small.
Crown said that after the one-off items it expects to record a statutory loss after tax for the full year, after an 80% slide in net profit to $80 million last year.
Crown said the statutory result remains subject to review by the board and management and Crown’s external auditors as part of normal year-end processes.
Looking to 2021-22, the company was non-committal, telling the ASX that the outlook is uncertain with ongoing COVID disruptions and regulatory processes expected to impact its financial performance.
The company will release its results on Monday, August 30.
