Silver Heritage Group, the Asia-facing casino operator, has disclosed losses of over $14 million at its latest annual report. The figure rose by just short of $10 million, from $4.6 million the previous year.
The firm suffered a number of setbacks throughout 2017, most notably the myriad issues stemming from the construction of the flagship Tiger Palace Resort in Nepal.
Addressing the impact of Tiger Palace on Silver Heritage’s financial shortcomings, Chairman David Green said: “We faced a funding gap of around AU$19 million, and the company’s shares had then been in a trading halt for two months while management and the Board identified and assessed the options available to finance the shortfall.
“I said at the time that it would have been easier to find a way out than a way to complete and open the property. While there was no obvious “best” solution to our challenge, and certainly none that would satisfy everyone, we were gratified by the support we received from shareholders when we embarked upon an entitlements issue in July 2017.”
In February, Silver Heritage moved to remedy the Tiger Palace debacle with the appointment of two experienced general managers. Kevin Willcocks, who has over 30 years experience in the Australian, Asian and European markets, was drafted in to tend to the running of the casino; while Brett Model was drafted in from the Golden Nugget Lake Charles in the USA to head up the hotel side.
Elsewhere, there were some positives to take: the firm generated a total Gross Gaming Revenue of $32 million (up 1% on the year previous); sales revenue of $18 million (up 8%); and adjusted EBITDA of $3 million (up 7% from the previous period if the negative cash flow during the ramp up of Tiger Palace is excluded).
