Operator News
France – SFC to offload Capvern casino and look for new acquisitions
By Phil - 9 August 2019
The Société Française de Casinos (SFC) group is focusing on snapping up new casinos to bolster its portfolio after it decided to sell Casino de Capvern les Bains.
The move comes following a dispute with the owner of the building in which it is located.
This casino, located at the foot of the Pyrenees, in Hautes-Pyrenees in south-western France, contributed €2.3m to revenue and € 0.5m to EBITDA in the first half of 2018 to 2019. SFC expects to complete the sale of its Capvern casino by December 31, 2019.
The casino has revived its fortunes in recent times. In 2018, Casino de Capvern les Bains recorded a massive 72 per cent increase in revenues on its traditional live tables, a 26 per cent increase in footfall with more than 52,000 people going into the venue along with 13,000 restaurant visits and 3,000 hotel guests.
Benjamin Frischer, casino manager, said in January: “I am very proud of how far we have come in two years. The casino of Capvern is a casino breaking all its records. I am particularly pleased with the work done with our reputation in the community and for the loyalty our customers show. People from the Hautes-Pyrénées, but also the Haute-Garonne, Gers and Pyrénées-Atlantiques come to the casino of Capvern.”
Having announced the decision to sell in its latest financials, SFC said: “We will position ourselves to takeover new casinos in the coming years in order to strengthen our scope and develop our profitable growth.”
It said it would continue to operate its four remaining casinos in Gruissan, Châtel-Guyon, Port la Nouvelle and Collioure, adding: “Commercial and marketing actions will be continued to increase attendance and increase turnover amid strict cost control.”
During the first half of this year, the group recorded a consolidated turnover of €11.3m, a slight decrease compared to the first half of the previous year. It pointed to a ‘still unfavorable socio-economic’ backdrop.
It highlighted that an economic downturn in Gruissan’s sales was offset by the rise in revenue at the Capvern casino. The other casinos, Châtel-Guyon, Port la Nouvelle and Collioure, generally showed stability in their Gross Gaming Revenues.
Overall GGR was stable at €6.8m. Non-gaming revenue came in at to €1.2m, down €0.1m, mainly because of the economic situation that ‘penalised purchasing power.’
Despite the slight decline in revenue, EBITDA increased by 3.9 per cent to €1.6m with all the company’s casinos contributing positively. Profit came in at € 0.81m, compared with € 0.75m, an increase of 7.9 per cent year-on-year.The group finalised during this half-year the sale of the casino in Chamonix and the sale of its stake in the company SFBC (owner of the Carnac, Briançon and Port Leucate casinos) for €2.8m, generating a capital gain €1.6m which greatly boosted the improvement in first-half results.
