Key points:
- Half-year results were meant to be posted before trading began on Friday
- Operator had expected to receive liquidity proposals
Concerns for the future of The Star Entertainment have taken another turn with new developments leaving the operator seeking liquidity solutions.
Only a few minutes prior to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) opened on Friday morning, the operator announced a pause in trading of its shares after it failed to post its half year financial report, saying “Trading in the securities of the entity will be temporarily paused pending a further announcement.”
Shortly after this, The Star responded to media speculation in relation to the matter, giving an update on reporting its half-year results, saying it was exploring “possible liquidity solutions,” and that it expected to receive “one or more liquidity proposals during the course of today.”
The company also noted that, if it was unable to lodge its financial report in time, its shares would be automatically suspended from trading on the ASX from Monday.
Reinstation would only take place after the report had been filed and when the ASX determined that trading of the shares could continue again.
Good to know: The Star has underlined that “there remains material uncertainty as to the group’s ability to continue as a going concern”
The Star’s closing share price on Friday was 0.11 AUD (US$0.06), which was 15.4% lower than the share price close on Thursday, underlining the situation the company finds itself in.
With the stock market now closed in Australia for Friday, it remains to be seen what the current situation is, given The Star has not released its half-year financial report.
These financial difficulties have been an ongoing concern for the operator for some time, which has seen it secure an AU$200m (US$124.31m) debt facility, implement safe harbour provisions to protect its directors from potential insolvency, and divest The Star Sydney Event Centre and its assets.
