SkyCity Adelaide appoints Avril Baynes as managing director
Baynes was named interim chief operating officer Australia in April.
Australia.- SkyCity Entertainment Group has announced that Avril Baynes, interim chief operating officer Australia, has been appointed as managing director Adelaide. Baynes first joined SkyCity in March 2015 as an executive manager at the SkyCity Darwin casino, where she managed various areas such as human resources, food and beverage, and tourism until SkyCity sold its stake in the SkyCity Darwin business in April 2019.
Baynes came back to SkyCity in November 2023 as the general manager of hospitality at SkyCity Adelaide. She assumed the position of interim chief operating officer Australia in April. She worked at Mindil Beach Casino Resort in Darwin, Australia, from November 2020 to November 2023.
SkyCity Chief Executive Officer Jason Walbridge commented “I’m delighted that Avril has agreed to lead our team in Adelaide on a permanent basis. She has led our uplift activities in Adelaide over the last five months and will continue to prioritise these alongside working closely with our regulators.”
SkyCity posts full-year net loss of US$88.23m
SkyCity Entertainment Group has shared its financial results for the fiscal year 2024. The company posted a net loss after tax of NZ$143.3m (US$88.3m) due to accounting adjustments, including an AU$86.2m (US$57.5m) impairment of the SkyCity Adelaide assets and a tax adjustment of NZ$129.6m (US$78.4m) following changes to New Zealand tax legislation.
Revenue was up 0.3 per cent year-on-year to NZ$928.5m (US$572m) while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 16.7 per cent to NZ$138.2m (US$85.15m). The company attributed the decline to a difficult operating environment and the impact of accounting adjustments.
Auckland generated 65 per cent of revenue, followed by Adelaide (26 per cent) and Hamilton (7 per cent). Gaming revenue was down 2.9 per cent year-on-year to NZ$727.7m (US$448.34m) while online gaming revenue fell by 39.2 per cent to NZ$9.3m (US$5.73m). The casino operator recorded 7 million visitors its four sites.
