(Reuters) – Shares in Australia’s no.2 casino operator Star Entertainment slumped over 50% to a record low on Friday, as it resumed trading a day after posting a second straight multi-billion-dollar annual loss on a write-down in its venues’ value.
The company wiped A$1.4 billion ($963.90 million) from the value of its casinos in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast because of “challenging trading conditions” and regulatory changes such as a switch to mandatory cashless gambling.
Star’s annual statutory net loss after tax came in at A$1.69 billion for the full year ended June 30, from A$2.44 billion in the prior year.
“The earnings collapse is worse than we expected,” Morningstar said in a note, adding that it was cutting its 2025 earnings forecast for the company by a third.
“We also lower our longer-term earnings as Star looks much less profitable given the current tighter regulatory regime.”
The stock fell as much as 54.4% to A$0.205 by 0032 GMT.
Trading in Star shares was suspended on Sept. 2 by the Australian bourse operator after the company failed to lodge its annual report for fiscal 2024 by the required due date.
($1 = 1.4524 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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