Great Canadian Gaming Corporation recently issued its financial results summing up its gaming operation over the past three months. March 31, 2020 witnessed the end of its first quarter of the fiscal 2020 year, and with this came the time for retrospection and evaluation of the goals achieved. Gaming revenue managed to reach CA$273.8 million over the first three months of this year.
The first months of this year, as well as the fiscal year, were largely positive for the Canadian casino operator that continued its regular operation until the middle of March. This is when the unprecedented situation took its toll and saw the official closure of brick-and-mortar casino venues and gambling halls overseen by the leader.
Fiscal 2020
March 16 witnessed the indefinite closure of all casino venues overseen by Great Canadian Gaming, making it clear that the first quarter of this fiscal year would be slightly affected by the closures. Gaming revenue generated over the said three months managed to reach CA$273.8 million. Projections are that the second quarter is about to witness a bigger impact, as the casinos have remained closed for nearly eight weeks and counting.
Regardless of the shutdown, the gaming revenue managed to witness a 10-percent surge when compared to the gaming revenue of the first quarter of the previous fiscal year. As for the adjusted EBITDA it ended up amounting to CA$103.0 million by the end of Q1. To put things into perspective, the first quarter of the previous fiscal year witnessed six percent higher adjusted EBITDA.
This first quarter came to an end and the first days of April witnessed Great Canadian Gaming hit pause on its non-critical construction projects across Ontario. This meant that casino venue construction had to come to a halt at least for the time being. Pickering Casino Resort is among the larger projects affected, along with developments surrounding Woodbine Racetrack.
Retrospection Time
Rod Baker, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, pointed out that the casino operator is working on the most comprehensive reopening plan for its casino venues across the Canadian provinces. It would eye the health of all casino staff members, as well as the patrons frequenting the locations. The process of reopening would take longer than the quick shutdown mid-March.
Construction work relaunch remains unknown for the time being. However, it should be noted that the pause in construction would inevitably affect the timeline of the projects, as well as their projected launch date. Mr. Baker also highlighted the good liquidity position of the casino operator, which saw a cash balance of CA$881.9 million at the end of the first quarter.
This week was a special one, as it witnessed the virtual annual general meeting of shareholders associated with Great Canadian Gaming. All directors nominated ahead of it were re-elected. Those are Peter G. Meredith, Rod N. Baker, Larry W. Campbell, Mark A. Davis, Thomas W. Gaffney, and Karen A. Keilty. The meeting also had the task to fix the number of directors of the casino corporation at six, as well as to reappoint Deloitte LLP as the auditor for the upcoming fiscal year.
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Author: Yolina
Yolina has followed closely the latest development on the Canadian gaming scene over the past years, monitoring the land-based, lottery, and online offerings up for grabs. The dynamic nature of the local lottery and casino fields, as well as the opportunities lying ahead of Canada fire her enthusiasm for what is to come. A sports betting enthusiast, in her spare time Yolina could be found in her natural habitat – turning the pages of biographies and catching up on the latest stand-up comedy podcasts.