Tsogo Sun Gaming, a South African gaming and entertainment enterprise, experienced a projected loss of ZAR 400 million (roughly $24 million) in earnings for the fiscal year concluding on March 31, 2020. This downturn was attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated the closure of their gambling establishments.
The company is currently exploring alternative revenue streams, including online sports wagering. Their chief executive, Chris du Toit, indicated that they are nearing the launch of their online betting platform. He views this as a logical progression for the organization.
In summary, their annual revenue for the year ending March 31 witnessed a modest increase, reaching ZAR 11.69 billion. This growth was driven by a robust first half, which saw a 5% rise in earnings. However, the latter half of the year experienced a 3% decline.
The majority of their income stems from gambling, which saw a 0.3% increase to ZAR 9.85 billion. Casinos contributed ZAR 7.3 billion, although this represented a 3% decrease from the preceding year. Slot machines generated ZAR 5.5 billion, while table games yielded ZAR 1.8 billion.
Conversely, Tsogo Sun’s Galaxy Bingo hall chain witnessed a 10% rise in earnings, reaching 8.56 billion Rand, while its VSlots network of limited-pay machines experienced a 7% increase in earnings, reaching 17 billion Rand.
Hotel room earnings remained steady at 4.9 billion Rand, and food and beverage earnings also stayed at 6.47 billion Rand, while the operator received a dividend of 1.1 billion Rand from its 20% ownership in Sun International’s Western Cape casino. Other earnings reached 5.93 billion Rand, a 4% year-over-year increase.
The operator noted that the COVID-19 pandemic started to affect business from March 15, before which operations were stable. From that date, the capacity of its venues was restricted, and on March 25, all properties were shut down to slow the spread of the virus. Tsogo Sun added that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on earnings is estimated at 4 billion Rand.
However, the pandemic’s effect on profitability was most significant, as the closures resulted in a devaluation charge of 20 billion Rand, and depreciation and amortization expenses climbed to 8.81 billion Rand.
Gambling taxes and value-added tax rose slightly this year to 21 billion Rand, while property expenses decreased to 1.76 billion Rand. Employee costs also decreased to 22 billion Rand, while other operating expenses increased to 32 billion Rand, and the company incurred a charge of 81 billion Rand due to changes in the fair value of its properties.
As a result, the devaluation charge due to the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced operating profit, which fell by 67% to 10 billion Rand.
Following a subtraction of financial items, Tsogo Sun recorded a pre-tax deficit of 205 million rand, which expanded to a post-tax deficit of 287 million rand.
However, the organization later recorded a gain of 564 million rand from discontinued operations, leading to a net profit of 277 million rand for the year, a decrease from 1.6 billion rand in the prior year.
Looking forward, Tsogo Sun stated that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a “crushing” effect on its business. Since the end of the fiscal year on March 31, the company claims to have lost an estimated 2 billion rand in revenue, with debt rising to 12 billion rand.
Dutoit said this means the organization needs to “immediately” resume operations to avoid further losses.
He stated: “The organization is prepared and has implemented strict hygiene and safety procedures to ensure a smooth reopening for our loyal customers.”
The operator said that once this occurs, the company is confident of quickly returning to profitability by reducing its cost structure, particularly by enhancing the efficiency of its casino operations.
Tsogo Sun went on to say that technology will drive much of the return to growth. Dutoit said the company will increase its efforts to leverage the prevalence of smartphones to better interact with customers and offer products through these devices.
He explained: “We are also in the final stages of entering the online gambling market, which is a separate market segment.”
Moreover, online casinos will be a “natural progression.”
Sun City Group has declared that accountable gaming will safeguard the substantial investment and employment opportunities generated by the gambling establishment.
In the meantime, Galaxy Bingo operations will continue to expand into other markets, generating R1 billion in revenue annually at full capacity, while the LPM division, including the VSlots hall, remains robust.
Furthermore, Sun City Group has named Annelize Hoyer as Chief Financial Officer, effective August 1st. The operator stated that Hoyer possesses over a decade of experience in the casino industry and will play a crucial role in assisting the business to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hoyer stated: “The primary focus during the lockdown was on swiftly reducing variable operating expenses, lowering fixed costs, canceling unnecessary and uncommitted capital expenditures to limit the increase in net debt during the business closure.”
“There are numerous challenges facing my new role as CFO in these challenging times, but we are confident that the measures already implemented and those to be implemented will result in a long-term decrease in our cost base without hindering future performance.”
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