The group’s reported after tax profit was down 73 per cent to NZ$6 million for the first half of the current financial year. This is attributed to interest costs of a long-standing casino duty dispute with the South Australian Government relating to SkyCity Adelaide. SkyCity announced it had agreed to pay AU$38.1 million to resolve the dispute last month, including AU$24.8 million in interest.
Underlying after tax profit for the group was also down 41 per cent to NZ$38 million due to lower consumer spending and costs related to SkyCity’s transformation program. SkyCity is undertaking efforts similar to Crown and The Star in Australia to strengthen its regulatory compliance and guard against financial crime.
While visitation to SkyCity’s properties in New Zealand and Adelaide have remained consistent, customer spending is down, resulting in a five per cent decrease in revenue across the group compared to the same period last year. Revenue sat at NZ$422 million for the six months to December 2024.
Revenue was also impacted by the five-day closure of the gaming floors at SkyCity Auckland, which was the result of a settlement relating to a responsible gambling issue.
“We continue to operate in challenging market conditions with subdued consumer confidence, so we’re pleased to see strength in our visitation numbers as people continue to enjoy coming to SkyCity for their entertainment,” said SkyCity’s CEO, Jason Walbridge.
“We welcome the government focus on economic growth and tourism we’re seeing on both sides of the Tasman. SkyCity has a big part to play in the tourism sector and we can’t wait to open the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) in February 2026 and welcome visitors to this world-class venue.”
The performance of SkyCity’s hotels has been a bright spot, with rooms sold rising 16 per cent across its portfolio and occupancy sitting at 73 per cent, four points above the market average.
SkyCity’s hotel portfolio includes the recently opened Horizon by SkyCity which is connected to the under-construction NZICC.
“The Horizon Hotel has been a fantastic addition to the SkyCity Auckland precinct,” said Walbridge.
“We maintain our leadership in the sector, outperforming the market in terms of occupancy and we expect to go from strength to strength with the NZICC opening in February 2026.”
Looking ahead, SkyCity is anticipating continued dampened trading conditions, but the NZICC is predicted to provide a significant boost.
“We expect the challenging economic conditions to continue to impact discretionary spend into the 2025 calendar year,” said Walbridge.
“We also expect the full year result to be impacted by somewhat lower revenues from customer spend and increased transformation costs – in particular the Building a Better Business (B3) programme in Adelaide, which in FY25 is expected to be in the order of NZ$18 million.
“The opening of the NZICC in February 2026 will be a game changer for SkyCity Auckland and New Zealand.
“We expect to see a boost of around 500,000 visitor days a year to SkyCity Auckland with the facility providing a significant lift to the wider Auckland and New Zealand economies.”
