GGRAsia – Casino supplier APE warns 2020 loss to soar by US$3.9mln

Casino supplier APE warns 2020 loss to soar by US$3.9mln

Mar 15, 2021 Newsdesk Industry Talk, Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Hong Kong-listed Asia Pioneer Entertainment (APE) Holdings Ltd expects its full-2020 loss before tax to leap by approximately HKD30.3 million (US$3.9 million) in year-on-year terms, to HKD32.0 million. It said a factor was a one-off accounting impairment of approximately HKD22.9 million as a result of the termination of two finance lease agreements, as announced in May last year.

The group, whose interests include Asia Pioneer Entertainment Ltd, a Macau-based distribution, sales and servicing business for casino slot machines and electronic table games, flagged the likely loss in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It plans to publish by March 25 its results for the period.

APE Holdings posted a HKD1.7 million loss before tax in full-year 2019.

The group said in its latest announcement it expected to record a decline in revenue of 50.6 percent for 2020 to HKD40.5 million, compared to HKD82.0 million in 2019.

APE Holdings announced in May it had terminated finance lease agreements with two companies, claiming that those firms failed to pay lease rental fees. The group at the time identified one of the two business deals as a finance lease agreement with Glimex Inc in December 2018 concerning leasing of electronic gaming equipment “for use at a casino in the Philippines”. The other was a finance lease agreement with Siam Star Leisure Co Ltd, also dated to December 2018 regarding leasing of electronic gaming equipment “for use at a casino in Cambodia”.

APE Holdings said in its Friday announcement it considered that the one-off HKD22.9-million impairment loss as a result of the termination of the finance leases would “not affect the company’s long-term financial stability”.

In its latest announcement, APE Holdings added that the Covid-19 pandemic had “adversely affected the operations of land-based casinos, leading to a weaker demand for technical sales and distribution of electronic gaming equipment of the group.”

It added: “It is expected that revenue from technical sales and distribution of electronic gaming equipment, consulting and technical services, and repair services of our group for [for 2020] would decrease by approximately 51 percent, 42 percent and 61 percent, respectively, as compared to those for the previous year.”

Even so, APE Holdings said it expected to record a positive net operating cash flow of approximately HKD0.8 million for 2020 as compared to a negative net operating cash flow of approximately HKF2.7 million for the previous year, “attributable to a better management of trade receivables”.