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- The Reef Casino Trust (RCT) is expecting to reinstate its six-month distribution, which was halted earlier this year
- The casino operator expects to distribute 8.54 cents per unit, or around $4.25 million in total, to its shareholders
- The distribution was withheld in the first half of the year, after state regulations under the pandemic forced the closure of the Reef Hotel Casino Complex in Cairns between March 23 and the end of the financial year
- With COVID-19 restrictions now eased, the Trust is estimating an $8.5 million distributable profit from the second half of the year, bringing the full-year 2020 estimated net loss before impairment to approximately $66,000
- The Reef Casino Trust is down a slight 0.79 per cent and shares are trading at $2.50
The Reef Casino Trust (RCT) is expecting to reinstate its six-month distribution, which was halted earlier this year.
The casino operator expects to distribute 8.54 cents per unit, or around $4.25 million in total, to its shareholders. This amounts to roughly half of the company’s half-year distributable profit.
The 50 per cent figure comes from the Trust’s constitution, which stipulates that half of the net income from each six-month period should go to the distribution.
Nevertheless, the first half of the year came and went without a half-year distribution, after state regulations under the pandemic forced the closure of the Trust’s sole asset, the Reef Hotel Casino Complex in Cairns, which suspended operations on March 23 and reminded closed until the end of the financial year.
At the end of the first half of the year, the Trust had thus far generated a net loss of $23.69 million, compared to a net profit of $755,000 in 2019’s corresponding period.
With COVID-19 restrictions now eased, The Reef Casino Trust has managed to somewhat lessen these losses in the intervening months.
Currently, the Trust is estimating an 8.5 million distributable profit from the second half of the year, bringing the full-year 2020 estimated net loss before impairment to approximately $66,000.
Despite improving conditions under the pandemic, the trust was also quick to point out that “economic and trading conditions in Cairns and the region remain challenging” and “the outlook regarding the COVID-19 situation still remains uncertain”.
The Reef Casino Trust is down a slight 0.79 per cent and shares are trading at $2.50 in early morning trade.
