CEO STOSS AFFIRMS THAT CASINOS
AUSTRIA REMAINS IN THE BLACK Casinos Austria boss, Dr. Karl Stoss, claims his company is in rude health, despite a tumultuous 12 months
The head of casino operator Casinos Austria, Karl Stoss has sought to repudiate claims by Rudolf Kemler, the head of state asset managing company ÖIAG (Austrian Industrial Holding AG), about the alleged need for a restructuring of Casinos Austria. In an interview in the Austrian press, Dr. Stoss noted that ÖIAG itself was in need of reorganisation, but that his own firm was operating well, as the 12 casinos yielded in 2014 2.5 per cent more than in 2013 and the lottery business had grown nearly two per cent, while VLT growth topped 15 per cent.
In 2013 Casinos Austria was affected by the licence revocation in Argentina, leaving the firm with an immense loss, but the rise in online gambling fortunes has allowed Casinos Austria to grow revenue by 2.5 per cent to a record-high €3.52bn. The firm has referred the Argentinian case to the arbitration court of the World Bank in Washington (claiming US$250m in damages)
The firm was also unlucky in Russia last year, as Russia banned private lotteries as of July 2014, which included Casinos Austria’s lottery in
Russian republic of Bashkortostan. This year the company will launch a casino in Georgia (Batumi) on the Black Sea; it has already started a new business in Macedonia involving video lottery terminals (VLT) and has signed a management contract for a casino near the Greek border.
With regard to the suspended sale of Australian assets to Hong Kong investor Tony Fung, Dr. Stoss said that the competent authorities would close the proceeding in question in February or March 2015. He added that Mr. Fung had approached Casinos Austria (not the other way round) to acquire the casino in order to put into motion his plans for an A$8.1bn investment in Queensland and needed a permit to proceed with his mega- resort. Dr. Stoss is optimistic that Mr. Fung will approach CA to operate the casino on his behalf.
However, in Austria the firm is having a rough time having failed to obtain new casino licences for Vienna and Lower Austria, but having invested nearly €10m in Austria in 2014 and a further €20m this year, Dr. Stoss is optimistic about Casinos Austria’s domestic future. “Casino Bregenz, the No.1 casino in the country, has been expanded in 2014 and begins the second stage of construction. At Kärntner Straße in Vienna we opened a new restaurant and will continue to
Insight CASINOS AUSTRIA
expand there and in Velden, while the largest chunk is the rehabilitation of the site at Klessheim Palace in Salzburg. And at the beginning of 2016 we will open a new casino in Zell am See. Our strategy is to increase efficiency, reduce costs and strengthen sales. In 2015 we will offer new games and continue to expand our restaurants further.”
It’s not all positive news, as Casinos Austria is also taking legal action against the Swiss-German casino project at Schwarzenberg Palace in Vienna, claiming that the proposed project does not meet the geographic diversification requirements as prescribed by the Gaming Act.
Casinos Austria is also awaiting a change of owners as central bank OeNB, holding a third of Casinos’ shares via subsidiary Münze, wants to sell those assets. However, Dr. Stoss dismissed rumours about another shareholder, Raiffeisen, who is thought to be mulling the sale of Casinos Austria shares. Dr. Stoss’ own contract is due to expire in 2016 and when asked if an early departure might be on the cards, he replied: “I’m incredibly happy in this job and I have an insanely great team. But I'm a realist. In 24 months a lot can happen. There will be changes in 2015 by the owners and there can of course lead to a change in management. We will see.”
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