SkyCity enjoys excess of success on record VIP gambling turnover

New Zealand-based casino operator SkyCity Entertainment Group showed no signs of catching Asia’s VIP slowdown as profit soared 30% in the first half of its fiscal year.

On Thursday, SkyCity announced a profit of NZD $71m (US $47.4m) in the six months ending Dec. 31, at the top end of its previously issued guidance, as revenue rose 14% to a record $566m. SkyCity operates four casinos in New Zealand and two more properties in Australia.

The prime contributor to SkyCity’s excess of success was its international business (IB), aka the company’s primarily Asian VIP clientele. So-called IB turnover was up over 51% year-on-year to a record $7.2b, while the IB win rate was 1.41%, slightly above the theoretical 1.35% and significantly above than the 1.04% recorded in the same period one year ago.

SkyCity’s flagship property in Auckland reported normalized revenue up 7.4% to $325m, while SkyCity Hamilton gained 9.9% to $27.7m. The combined Queenstown operations enjoyed record growth, rising 107.6% to $13.7m thanks to “significant” IB activity.