Tsogo Sun Gaming Shares Drop Following Travel Restrictions

Tsogo Sun Gaming, the casino arm of South Africa’s premier hotel and gaming brands, issued a trading statement on Friday for the year ending March 31st, 2020. In the statement, the group advised its shareholders that it would be releasing its financial results on or around May 29th.

Some of the key results that are expected to be made public:

• Income is expected to be between flat and 2% higher (ie. between the same amount year on year and R232 million higher)
• EBITDAR is expected to be between 2% (ie. R81 million lower) and flat, compared to last year.
• Headline Earnings Per Share (HEPS) are expected to fall by between 30% and 25%.

On Friday, Tsogo Gaming’s share prices were down 5.72% to R1.82.

It has been a dreadful year for Tsogo Gaming this year, so far, and in line with the rest of the tourist industry. Tsogo Gaming’s share prices lost nearly 90% in 2020.

On Thursday, Tsogo Sun Hotels announced that it could face a fall of up to 10% in full year core earnings, directly impacted by less local and international travel.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic all of Tsogo Sun hotels in South Africa, the Seychelles and the rest of Africa have been closed. The only exceptions are those properties which have been designated as quarantine facilities. Some hotels are also used to house essential service workers.

Tsogo Sun has been forced to put hundreds of employees on furlough and find ways to reduce fees across the board.

The group said that the South African government’s restrictions on inter-regional travel in a bid to curb the spread of the virus would have a serious impact on its 4th quarter trading.

Tsogo Sun Gaming includes some of the most popular land casinos in South Africa, including:
• Montecasino
• Gold Reef City Casino
• Silverstar Casino
• Suncoast Casino
• Golden Horse Casino
• Blackrock Casino
• The Caledon Casino