Held at the Convention Centre at the Burswood Entertainment Centre in Western Australia, shareholders at the Annual General Meeting of Crown Limited heard from Executive Chairman James Packer that over the last 12 months both Crown Melbourne and Burswood integrated resorts have delivered a reasonable performance. “This was achieved despite the adverse impact of softening consumer sentiment and the greater than expected impact of refurbishment works associated with expanding and enhancing both complexes.”

Packer added that VIP gaming volumes at both properties reached an all-time record level but the growth rate in VIP program play moderated in the second half with some initial impact being seen from the opening of two new integrated resorts in Singapore. Internationally, Melco Crown Entertainment made significant progress in Macau with its flagship resort, the City of Dreams, having its first full year of operation in a gaming market that exhibited strong growth.

Crown reported a net profit of A$292.3 million for the financial year ended 30 June 2010 and the Directors have announced a final dividend of 19 cents per share, franked to 60%. This brings the total dividend for the year to 37 cents per share. A current A$1.9 billion capital expenditure program is well underway and scheduled for completion in 2013. According to Packer: “This is a demonstration of our faith in the economy, in Australia’s appeal as a tourism destination for the Asian region and our ability to deliver integrated resorts of international quality.”

Rowen Craigie is Crown Limited’s Chief Executive Officer. He stated that Crown Melbourne and Burswood have each made a solid start to the 2011 financial year, although VIP revenue is down 10%, and that company efforts will remain focused on enhancing Crown’s Australian operations. However, Crown is an international business and the Australian casinos attract a significant number of overseas patrons, particularly from Asia. Craigie said, “This market is becoming increasingly competitive as integrated resorts throughout Asia continue to receive support from their Governments. We must remain focused on maintaining our global reputation for quality and service excellence.”

David Courtney, CEO of Crown Melbourne said, “The addition of the new Crown Metropol hotel and Crown Conference Centre to our integrated resort demonstrates the confidence Crown has in the future of Melbourne as one of the region’s most appealing tourist destinations.” Barry Felstead, CEO at Burswood added, “Burswood will undertake capital expenditure totalling approximately A$350 million over the next 36 months to create a property that can successfully compete against the new integrated resorts in the Asian region.”

In Macau Crown holds a 33.4% equity interest in Melco Crown Entertainment, a joint venture between Crown and Melco International Development Limited, as at 30 June 2010. Melco Crown was listed on the NASDAQ in December 2006 and has two premium properties, City of Dreams and Altira Macau. The joint venture also operates Mocha Clubs, which feature approximately 1,500 gaming machines in eight locations and represent the largest non-casino based operations of electronic gaming machines in Macau.

Crown has interests in Betfair Australasia, Cannery Casino Resorts in the US, Aspinalls in the UK and in Gateway. Crown is owed A$11.7 million by Betfair and £23.6 million by Aspinalls. Crown’s equity and debt investments in Gateway had previously been written down to nil. Subsequent to year end, Gateway has fi nalised a restructure of its equity and debt so that Crown and its joint venture partner, Macquarie Group, now each own 1% of the restructured entity. The company is awaiting Pennsylvania regulatory approval to convert a preferred instrument in Cannery, when it will then hold a 24.5% share in Cannery.

At the AGM Packer mentioned the amount of support in terms of infrastructure and promotional activities that Singapore and Macau casino resorts receive from their governments. He called on the federal and state governments in Australia as well as the tourism industry and tourism operators to do more to encourage visitors. Packer, who previously has said he could be interested in acquiring Tabcorp’s Sydney casino, Star City, refused to comment on the Tabcorp demerger and told shareholders that any bid for Tabcorp’s casino business would ‘take a lot of work and a lot of money’. (E-11.30.10)

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