HK Jockey Club annual revenue down 11.6 per cent

Total revenue for the past fiscal year amounted to HK$218,749 million (US$28.2 billion), mostly from horse racing.

Hong Kong.- The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) has posted an 11.6 per cent drop in revenue in its financial results for the last fiscal year.

Total revenue amounted to HK$218.7bn (US$28.2bn). Most of that came from horseracing, which brought in HK$120,990bn (US$15.6bn) from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020.

The decline in revenue from horseracing was 3.2 per cent year-on-year, not bad considering the lockdown measures implemented during the latter part of the financial year.

Some betting shops remained closed for several weeks amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and races continued without audiences.

The segment that saw the biggest fall in revenue was the Mark Six lottery. It brought in only HK$5.2bn (US$665m) for the 12 months, down 39 per cent on the previous financial year.

Football turnover was HK$92.6bn (US$11.9bn), down 18.8 per cent, mainly due to the cancellation of matches in sports leagues worldwide, the HKJC said.

During the 12 months prior to June 30 the club returned a total of HK$25.2bn (US$3.2bn) to the community, including a HK$346m (U$44.6m) commitment to tackle the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a release announcing the results the HKJC said: “The Club’s success, when much of global sport and racing was shut down, earned accolades around the world. It also enabled the Club to provide valuable stay-at-home-entertainment at a time when residents were being urged to avoid public gatherings.”

HKJC Chairman Philip Chen said it was one of the finest years in the Club’s history.

He said: “I believe we have every reason to be proud of the Club. We maintained our core racing, wagering and membership operations. We kept our customers, members, employees and licensed personnel safe and protected. Above all, we stayed true to our purpose.

“In short, we did what was right for the Club and what was best for Hong Kong.”