Star Entertainment was due to publish its half year financial report ahead of today’s (28 February) deadline. However, it said in a statement that it is likely that the results would only be announced if it receives liquidity proposals which give assurance it can continue as a going concern. The group had said that it was anticipating one or more liquidity proposals during the course of today.
At the time of publication – almost midnight in Sydney – no announcement about an agreement has been released.
Brink Of Collapse
Star, which operates casinos in Brisbane, Sydney and the Gold Coast, has been on the brink of collapse for weeks. The group has now faced years of declining revenues, licensing headaches and major operational disruptions.
“As noted in the company’s recent ASX announcements, there remains material uncertainty as to the group’s ability to continue as a going concern,” Star told shareholders today.
Star Entertainment warned investors that if the 1HFY25 Report is not lodged today as required by the ASX Listing Rules, then the group’s shares will be automatically suspended from trading from Monday, 3 March 2025. This suspension would continue until the 1HFY25 Report is lodged and the ASX determines that the business’ shares should be reinstated to quotation.
Diminished Cash Reserves
The group’s 2025 kicked off with bad news as it announced on 8 January that its cash reserves had fallen to AU$79 million (£40 million/€47.4 million/$48.9 million) at the end of 2024. That total includes the first AU$100 million tranche from its new debt facility, which was drawn on 3 December.
Earlier in February, Star Entertainment received a debt financing proposal from funds associated with Oaktree Capital Management. Under discussion by the group’s board, this would have provided a total of AU$650 million in two debt facilities with a term of five years.
