internationalcasinoreview News CENTRAL EUROPE & CIS
The ramifications of the Greek crisis are not just being felt in European banks and chancelleries but also at headquarters of Casinos Austria International, which has had to take some big charges to account for the difficulties at what was once the jewel in its crown.
costaccounting AUSTRIA
Having recorded a deficit of more than E35m in 2010, the first half of 2011 has proven even more challenging for Casinos Austria International (CAI), which has posted a net loss for the six months to the end of June of E30.7m. The losses come despite
an increase in net gaming revenues of more than ten per cent to E67m: increases were recorded in all its markets, except for its ‘Canada including Cruise Ships’ segment, which saw a
Baden-
Despite increase revenues, structural difficulties to do with Greece and certain other aspects of CAI’s business have pushed up costs
Greek problems multiply CAI losses in first half
decline of 13 per cent due to fewer ships in operation: from 11 last year to five this year.
Net gaming revenues in
Europe, the Middle East and Africa rose 11.4 per cent to E40m, while in Australia and Asia, net revenues were up 5.2 per cent to E6.1m. In a statement it said: “The
moderate world economic upswing in 2010 has largely continued in 2011. The recovery after the financial and economic crisis is pro-
gressing in the existing markets of the CAI group but at different rates. The generally good overall eco- nomic situation in Europe, particularly the improved year-on-year consumer spending, has had a positive effect on revenues. However, these have been offset by the continuing impact of the Greek sover- eign debt crisis and the decline of tourism in Egypt because of the unstable political situation. The
natural disasters in Australia in late 2010 and early 2011 led to a temporary flatten- ing of the recovery.” It continued: “The invest- ments made in expansion in previous years have also changed the cost structure: the growth of casino revenue could not offset these increased expenses. In order to adjust the cost struc- ture to meet the current market conditions, a restruc- turing programme has been launched in all areas.”
Increased costs are at the
root of CAI’s poor results: pre-opening expenses for its VLT operations in Italy and the higher costs at Viage in Brussels and RP5 in Hanover subtracted significantly from the bottom line. However, issues to do with its involvement in Greece are the principal factor. CAI has put aside E8.5m as a down-payment on a settle- ment with Vasanta Holdings over a disputed put-option regarding Powerbrook
Spain, part of the compli- cated ownership structure of Club Hotel Loutraki, which CAI shares with Queenco. It has also taken an impairment charge of E9.1m to cover the down- turn in business at Loutraki, meaning a total E17.6m total hit due to what the company describes as “the worsening prospects in Greece”. The net loss for the half has led to some fevered speculation, particularly in the Austrian press, about the future of CAI as a part of the Casinos Austria Group. Perhaps the most entertain- ing suggestion was in Die Presse, which suggested that the French operator Groupe Partouche was about to snap up the company. Given that Partouche is not endowed with a huge amount of spare cash at the moment, it is an unlikely scenario. CAI has previously said, however, that it is looking for part- ners in various of its opera- tions and Viage in Brussels has been mentioned as one venue where such a part- nership might be consid- ered. Partouche was one of the rival bidders for that licence and it may be that a vague interest there has been extrapolated to the whole company.
Württemberg Casinos win complete ISO
certification
satisfactionguaranteed GERMANY
The three casinos in Baden-Württemberg at Baden-Baden, Constance and Stuttgart are famed throughout the world for their professionalism, sophistication and dis- tinctiveness. Now, that has been officially recognised in the award of ISO 9001 quality certification for the entire game offer at all three casinos, one of the few operators in Germany to have achieved such a distinction. The company achieved ISO 9001 for its slot machines in Stuttgart in 2007, followed by Baden-Baden in 2008 and Constance in 2009: the gaming machines operations at all three were re-certified in February this year. Now the certification has also been obtained by the table game operations at the casinos.
The historic Casino Baden-Baden, like its sister venues, now has ISO 9001 certification for its entire game offer
CEO Otto Wulferding said: “Now it has
been officially certified that we are on the right track and doing a very good job. This means great praise and credit go to our employees. The responsibility of the man- agement is now not only to preserve conti- nuity but also to manage change.” Silvia Brecht, the quality control manager
for the company, added: “The increasing competitive pressure that Baden-Württem- berg Casinos is exposed to led to the deci- sion to turn a special eye on quality management. In my view, ISO certification helps us to win the trust of customers, increase satisfaction, improve the image and employee morale and make decision relevant. In this way you can save time and costs and avoid errors.”
10 October 2011 • centraleurope&cisnews
Hoscher replaces Herzfeld at the ECA
boardchange AUSTRIA
At an ECA board meeting on September 8 in Brussels, Paul Herzfeld, who stepped down as CEO of Casinos Austria International in May, officially passed on his seat as representative for Austria and Casinos Austria to Dietmar Hoscher. Hoscher is a director of the Austrian operator and a proven expert in European affairs and the European gaming industry.
Paul Herzfeld had served as ECA board member and representative for Austria for six years. ECA chairman Ron Goudsmit, thanked him for his commitment to the idea of a European casino asso- ciation and for his strong support and large contribu- tion to the development of
the association: “With the help of Paul’s support and expertise, the European Casino Association has grown from a mere idea into a leading and respected industry association and primary resource for casino industry information at a European level. We thank him for his dedication and wish him all the very best for his future endeavours. We would also like to extend a warm welcome to Dietmar Hoscher as the new member of our board.” For his part Hoscher said: “It is an honour to be appointed to the ECA board. I am looking forward to this opportunity to actively promote key issues like responsible gaming and corporate social responsi- bility, both of which are per- manent elements in the
Casinos Austria corporate philosophy, at a European level.”
He added: “The work done by the ECA is essen- tial, and it is extremely important that Europe’s legitimate, licensed opera- tors work together to develop and foster the gaming market in Europe.”
Bavarian coalition at odds over casinos A senior member of the free-market FDP, the junior coalition party in the Bavarian government, Jörg Rohde (pictured), is campaigning for the state’s casinos to be privatised, saying that they are loss-making and costing taxpayers a lot of money. However, the CSU, the larger partner, has said flatly that the casinos will remain within state ownership. Erwin Huber, chairman of the Bavarian economic committee, said: “The casinos will continue to remain a public responsibility.”
Casinos Austria’s Dietmar Hoscher, now appointed to the ECA board
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