Tab NZ misses June revenue and turnover budgets

Wagering turnover for the month reached NZ$197.3m (£102.0m/€121.5m/US$124.2m), which was 3.9% or $8.1m below budget.

Net profit amounted to $11.0m, some $1.7m below a budget of $12.7m, with betting profit $1.5m under budget at $9.3m and gaming profit also $200,000 off budget at $1.7m.

However, Tab NZ did note that operating expenses for the month were $200,000 below an initial budget of $10.0m, amounting to $9.6m, while code distributions and other payments were $100,000 above budget at $13.2m.

Analysing its monthly performance, Tab NZ said the primary reason for it missing budgets was due to consumers not spending as much as initially anticipated amid the rising cost of living in New Zealand.

Retail and hospitality was able to operate without capacity restrictions despite the outbreak of the Omicron novel coronavirus (Covid-19) variant, but Tab NZ said this remained a factor during the month.

In addition, Tab NZ said there was a decrease in starter numbers and across the three racing codes through April, May and June, which in turn contributed to the variance in turnover.

The TAB Stradbroke Handicap (G1) was the most popular racing event in June, attracting $411,000 in wagers, whereas in sports, the clash between the Blues and Crusaders ranked first with $1.4m in turnover.

For financial year-to-date performance, net profit for the 11 months to the end of June was $141.1m, some $3.4m below budget, while distributions were $5.3m above budget at $161.2m.