The South African casino operator said: “The Covid-19 pandemic significantly impacted the Group’s results for the year ended 31 December 2020, following the prolonged closure of many of its operations during the year, as a result of the lockdowns imposed by Government in terms of the Disaster Management Act”.

The 1,000-1,100 cents share loss is in stark contrast to 2019’s basic earnings profit of 518 cents per share.

Adjusted headline earnings for the financial year ended December 31 2020 are expected to be a loss of between 570 and 690 cents per share, compared to the previous period’s profit of 605 cents per share.

Sun International attributes the value differences between basic and adjusted headline earnings to: an impairment charge of approximately R1.3bn against both tangible and intangible assets; a re-measuring of the company’s Sun Dreams investment minus cost to sell; and non-recurring restructuring costs.

The company’s trading update was not formally reviewed by Sun International’s external auditor; its Q4 and full year report is to be released 15 March.