Operator News

Austria – Casinos Austria International records loss of €52.8m due to Covid-19

By Phil - 3 September 2020

Casinos Austria International (CAI) reported a loss of €10m following a year-on-year revenue loss of €52.8m with the Covid-19 pandemic affecting operations in in Germany, Hungary, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Denmark, North Macedonia, Australia and Egypt.

Revenue dropped by more than 30 per cent although the operator pointed to a strong recovery since its venues reopened.

It stated: “The global economy contracted significantly, especially in the second quarter of 2020, due to the sometimes drastic measures taken to contain the coronavirus. While the Casinos Austria International Group’s gaming revenues in January and February 2020 were 11 per cent higher than in the previous year, all casinos had to shut down in March 2020. The management immediately took all measures to curb [expenditure]. Fortunately, good gaming revenues have been achieved in the first few weeks since the opening.

Germany generated the largest revenue at €30.1m followed by Belgium with €10.6m, Switzerland at €6.8m, Denmark with €6.2m, Australia with €4.3m, Liechtenstein with €5.5m, Hungary with €4.3m and other regions €4.5m.

The operator’s tax contribution was €24.4m, down 36.7 per cent. It managed to reduce its operating costs by 24.5 per cent to €10.3m.

CAI’s German operations saw a profit of €2.5m, while its Hungarian operations made a €506,000 profit.

Losses were recorded in Belgium, €5.7m, Switzerland €2.1m and Denmark, €716,000.