New Zealand’s SkyCity Entertainment may throw its hat in the ring for a new resort casino in downtown Brisbane.
Chief Executive Nigel Morrison said the Auckland-based operator notified the Queensland government prior to the February 28 deadline.
“I don’t know whether we will ultimately bid but we have expressed an interest,” he said.
If it does it would see SkyCity taking on Australian rivals Echo Entertainment Group and Crown Resorts in a competitive tender to develop the complex, which will be located on the riverfront in the state capital’s government district. Echo and Crown have said they’re prepared to spend A$1 billion or more on a casino and hotel and supporting attractions should they win the license.
SkyCity’s interest comes after a tender for a Gold Coast cruise ship terminal by a consortium including SkyCity was “set aside” by the government, Morrison said.
The company is also in the throes of a $350 million refurbishment of its Adelaide casino and is about to embark on construction of a NZ$400 million convention center in Auckland as part of a deal with the government that allows it to expand its flagship casino in New Zealand’s largest city.
The disruption of the Auckland expansion was blamed in part for a 5.8 percent drop in normalized revenue (adjusted for volatility in VIP win rate) to NZ$467 million in the six months ended December 31. Weakness in VIP volumes and unfavorable currency fluctuations also figured in the decline as measured against the same period in 2012. The bottom line was a 7.9 percent decrease in net profit to $61 million on EBITDA that was down 6 percent to $143.6 million.
The company reported a strong January, however, with normalized revenue up 11.9 percent on a constant currency basis, and will pay an interim dividend of NZ10 cents on April 4.
