17 Dec 2013

Sky City blames high dollar for anticipated drop in profits

12:54 pm on 17 December 2013

SkyCity Entertainment Group expects its half-year profit to fall, and it's blaming the steep rise of the New Zealand dollar.

In an update to the market, the casino operator says the appreciation of the kiwi against the Australian dollar is expected to wipe $3 million from its bottom line.

The group says it expects its normalised net profit after tax to be between $65 million and $68 million in the six months to the end of December, compared to $72 million the same period a year earlier.

In the last six months, the kiwi has risen 18% against its Australian counterpart, from 78 cents to 92 cents.

Sky City Entertainment's chief executive Nigel Morrison says he's not concerned about the dollars earned in Australian casinos being worth less when translated into New Zealand dollars, because it also makes the group more attractive to Australian investors.

Mr Morrison says the group will start trading on the Australian Stock Exchange's 200 index next week.

About midday on Tuesday, shares in Sky City Entertainment were down 6 cents to $3.84.