(Reuters) – Shares in Australia’s second-largest casino operator Star Entertainment fell more than 50% to an all-time low on Friday. The company resumed trading a day after posting billions of dollars in annual losses for the second year in a row due to writedowns. Venue value.
The company has wiped A$1.4 billion ($963.9 million) from the value of its casinos in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast due to “tight trading conditions” and regulatory changes such as mandating cashless gambling.
Its statutory net loss after tax for the year ended June 30 was A$1.69 billion, down from A$2.44 billion in the same period last year.
“The drop in revenue is more severe than we expected,” Morningstar said in a note, cutting its 2025 earnings forecast by a third.
โAlso, given the current stringent regulatory regime, Star’s profitability is likely to be significantly lower, thereby lowering its long-term returns.โ
The stock had fallen as much as 54.4% to A$0.205 by 0032 GMT, making it the worst performer on the ASX200 benchmark index.
Trading in Star shares was suspended by the Australian stock exchange operator on September 2 after the company failed to file its 2024 annual report by the required deadline.
Starr said in its results, released four weeks after Thursday’s reporting deadline, that it may offload assets due to ongoing restructuring activities and capital outflows related to regulatory issues.
In recent years, Star and major rival Crown Resorts have faced multiple investigations for violating anti-money laundering regulations.
A government-ordered investigation has uncovered unfavorable findings regarding the Star’s governance at its Sydney venue, potentially leading to increased regulatory oversight and fines.
Star also plans to respond by Friday to the NSW Gambling Regulator’s show cause notice, which relates to reports suggesting Star was slow to respond to governance and cultural issues. It was.
($1 = 1.4524 Australian Dollar)
(Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aichi)