Monte Carlo Casino: operator’s revenue down by 16.1%
Société des Bains de Mer saw gaming revenue recover from a Q1 low but not enough to avoid a double-digit decline in Q4.
Monaco.- Société des Bains de Mer (SBM), the owner of Casino de Monte-Carlo and Betclic Everest, has reported gaming revenue of €45.9m for the three months ending December 31, 2020.
The figure marks a recovery from a low of €9.6m in Q1 but remains down by 16.1 per cent year-on-year.
SBM said: “This decrease remains small given the public health situation. Table gaming revenue actually benefited from particularly favourable luck during the month of December.”
Total revenue for the group came in at €95.8m, down 23 per cent, largely because of a 48.5 per cent drop in hotel revenue to €23.5m.
Lease revenue from shop and office properties owned by SBM increased by 9.2 per cent to €27.2m. Other revenue dropped by 61.5 per cent to €735,000.
SBM said the results showed its diversification strategy was working despite the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Monaco did not declare a full lockdown in the last quarter but casino opening hours were reduced.
In August last year, Casino de Monte-Carlo introduced digital French roulette terminals in a bid to engage younger players with the game.
The financial year to date has generated gaming revenue of €94m, a drop of 54.3 per cent. Total revenue for the first three quarters was down by 50.3 per cent to €264.5m.
SBM restructuring plan
SBM expects to report severely impacted performance for the full financial year, ending March 31.
After the group announced a restructuring plan last year, 164 employees have taken voluntary redundancies.
The group plans to make layoffs, but they may now be fewer than the 161 that had been expected.
It has raised €65m through issuing short-term negotiable debt securities, while the Monegasque government has committed to invest a further €120m if there is no other interest.
Betclic Everest’s subsidiary Bet-at-Home, meanwhile, has raised its earnings guidance for the financial year to €30.9m after reporting €93m in revenue for the first nine months.
