VIPs desert Crown as Packer’s return nears
JAMES Packer’s gaming and hotel company Crown Resorts has reported a 9 per cent fall in net profit as wealthy gamblers shunned its casinos.
Business
Don't miss out on the headlines from Business. Followed categories will be added to My News.
JAMES Packer’s gaming and hotel company Crown Resorts has reported a 9 per cent fall in net profit as wealthy gamblers shunned its casinos, increasing concerns about looming local job cuts.
And the group has further paved the way for Mr Packer’s return to the boardroom following the exit of long-serving chief executive Rowen Craigie.
VIP turnover at Crown fell 45 per cent in the six months to December after a deep slide in overseas patronage since the arrest of 15 Crown marketing staff in China last year.
However, the company announced a bonanza special payout for shareholders of 83c a share, on top of its 30c interim dividend.
The combined $1.13-a-share payout is set to deliver almost $400 million to Mr Packer, Crown’s biggest shareholder with a 48.2 per cent stake.
When questioned whether Mr Packer had any input in nominating the size of the special dividend, recently appointed chairman John Alexander described the tycoon’s windfall as “lucky”.
“Well, he’s the biggest recipient, isn’t he. He’s lucky,” Mr Alexander said.
The sweetener buoyed investors, who sent Crown shares up 7.9 per cent to a four-month high of $12.29.
Mr Packer, who announced his return to the Crown board in early January, is yet to receive NSW probity clearance.
In the meantime, Crown has again shuffled the deckchairs at its top table, with Mr Alexander also to serve as chief, replacing Mr Craigie who has resigned.
The well-regarded Mr Craigie joined Crown’s Melbourne casino in 1993 and was appointed chief of Crown Resorts in 2007. He will consult with Crown on select projects.
Reflecting on his tenure on Thursday, Mr Craigie said he was proud to have helped build the company from a single Melbourne casino.
“In particular, I have been fortunate to have worked closely with three remarkable Australian entrepreneurs in Lloyd Williams, Kerry Packer and James Packer,” he said.
The company endured a difficult six months, punctuated by the arrests of 15 of its staff in China and the scrapping of its Las Vegas casino plans.
Crown reported a normalised net profit to December of $191.3 million, a 9.1 per cent fall on the same period a year ago.
After including extraordinary profits of $176 million, mainly the sale of a 2.8 per cent stake in the Macau-based Melco Crown Entertainment, the company posted a net profit of $359.1 million, up 75 per cent on the previous year.
Total revenue was down 8.7 per cent at $1.7 billion.
Mr Alexander said Crown expected to disclose staff cuts and other cost savings at its full-year results in August.
On Thursday, it launched a $500 million share buyback and the repurchase of up to $530 million in debt securities.
Originally published as VIPs desert Crown as Packer’s return nears
How the NBN has delivered just in time
The NBN has delivered, and it has done so in what can only be described as the ultimate — the hit-the-ground running immediate — stress test, rites Terry McCrann.
Sydney airport the wrong place at the wrong time
Sydney Airport has some of the sweetest acreage in Australia but when passengers numbers have dwindled from 9 million in the March quarter to 400,000 in the June quarter, that doesn’t count for much, writes Terry McCrann.