Listen To Article
SkyCity Entertainment Group has announced that the High Court of Australia has granted SkyCity Adelaide special leave to appeal a decision by the South Australian Court of Appeal.
This appeal concerns the interpretation of provisions in the Adelaide Casino Duty Agreement dated 27 October 1999, which impact the calculation of casino duty related to loyalty points converted for gaming machine play at SkyCity Adelaide.
The dispute – detailed in SkyCity’s 2023 Annual Report and FY24 interim financial statements – revolves around the proper construction of the agreement.
Both SkyCity Adelaide and the Treasurer of South Australia had sought declaratory relief from the South Australian Supreme Court due to the complexity of the issues involved.
With the High Court’s decision to grant special leave, a full hearing of the appeal will be conducted later this year. The High Court’s ruling could either uphold the Court of Appeal’s interpretation of the Agreement or adopt SkyCity Adelaide’s proposed interpretation.
In addition to this, SkyCity Entertainment Group also issued an update on its financial performance and dividend policy for FY24.
The company now anticipates underlying Group EBITDA to be between NZ$280m ($173m) and NZ$285m, and underlying Group NPAT to be between NZ$120m and NZ$125m.
This revision comes as a reduction from the previous guidance, which projected EBITDA between NZ$290m and NZ$310m, and NPAT between NZ$125m and NZ$135m.
Several factors have influenced this downward adjustment. The ongoing challenging economic environment has impacted customer spending, although visitation numbers remain strong across SkyCity sites.
Additionally, the opening of the Horizon Hotel has been delayed until August 2024, affecting contributions from hotel, food and beverage, and gaming activities in the Auckland precinct.
Furthermore, there is a potential increase in Adelaide casino duty expenses for FY24 following a South Australian Court of Appeal ruling regarding the treatment of loyalty points.
SkyCity will release its FY24 full-year results on 22 August 2024.
Last month, SkyCity and AUSTRAC agreed to fine the operator AU$67m (US$44.6m) for offenses against the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006, which will be considered by the Federal Court of Australia.
