No dividend payout by Sun International
Borrowings up on acquisition of further stake in GPI Slots and expenditure on Times Square casino
Gaming giant Sun International resisted paying a dividend and focused on easing gearing as tough trading conditions persist in its main markets in SA and Latin America. Sun CEO Anthony Leeming said difficult trading conditions and the need to complete strategic group initiatives and curb debt levels had prompted the board not to declare a dividend. Results released on Monday showed Sun, which has changed its financial year-end to December, finished the six months to end December 2016 with borrowings of R14.5bn. This was R455m more than at the end of June 2016. The increase in borrowings stems mainly from acquisition of another 19.9% interest in GPI Slots for R262m and expenditure on the soon-to-be-opened casino at Times Square near Pretoria (R1.2bn). Sun still has unutilised borrowing facilities of R1.6bn and available cash balances of R767m. But projected capital expenditure was almost R1.7bn for the financial year to December 2017, mainly related to further developments at Time Sq...
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