SkyCity shares plunge on discounted equity raise, full-year profit miss
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The news: Casino operator SkyCity Entertainment saw its shares crash 29% after emerging from a trading halt this morning.
The numbers: SkyCity shares were down 29% to 64.8 cents at midday AEST, extending losses to 54.7% over the last 12 months.
The group announced today that it had completed the institutional component of its planned NZD240 million ($217 million) equity raise, announced on Thursday.
The placement and institutional offer raised gross proceeds of NZD195 million.
The raise, which will also feature a retail entitlement offer, is at a fixed price of 70 NZ cents per share, representing a 30% discount to its last closing price on the NZX.
The context: SkyCity said the equity raise aims to provide "balance sheet resilience" to "navigate this period of continued economic weakness" and "execute on near-term priorities."
Investors today also reacted to the company's full-year earnings, released on Thursday, which showed a swing to statutory profit.
However, the NZD29.2 million profit came in lower than the NZD37.4 million expected by analysts, according to Visible Alpha data. Underlying net profit of NZD71.5 million was also down 42% year on year, with the company citing a "lower level of earnings and increased interest expense, partially offset by a lower tax expense".
The source: ASX
