TAB New Zealand Update on Trading Performance - November

TAB New Zealand (TAB NZ) provides the latest monthly trading update for the 2020/2021 financial year, with the results and highlights for November 2020.

Wagering Performance Summary

November was a solid month for TAB NZ with a reported profit before distributions of $17.7M. Results from Melbourne Cup day and NZ Cup Week in Christchurch, coupled with full domestic racing fields, continued TAB operational efficiencies and the ongoing resumption of sporting events around the world, were all major contributors to the strong result.

Racing 

Melbourne Cup day resulted in TAB’s highest ever turnover on a Melbourne Cup day of $26.6M (up 14 percent on last year). It was also the highest ever GBR for a Melbourne Cup day of $6.2M. The race itself generated $11.5M in turnover exceeding  the previous high, set  in 2018, of $10.3M. 

Resulting turnover of $11.3M from the IRT NZ Trotting Cup day, was also the highest ever for a Cup day, exceeding the previous record of $10.8M in 2018 by 5 percent. The day attracted 40,000+ account customers which was 8 percent higher than last year's total.

Domestic starter and field size numbers have continued to be strong with Domestic racing turnover up $13.8M against budget.  Large field sizes for the Thoroughbred code, particularly throughout NZ Cup Week, again contributed to strong margins. 

Turnover on overseas racing also continues to perform above expectation at 21 percent above target for the month. Of particular note was Australian Thoroughbreds up 23 percent, driven by a strong result on the Melbourne Cup (44 percent) with that single race representing almost 15 percent of overseas fixed racing revenue for the month. 

Sport

Rugby League’s State of Origin, which is normally played during the NRL regular season but was rescheduled to be held at the end of the season generated around $100k-$200k more per game than the fixtures did during the 2019 season. 

International cricket  was  also back with the first T20 generating $800k in turnover, up $300k on the last limited overs match played in New Zealand before lockdown. 

---------------------

November Operational Performance 

• Net Profit for the month was $17.7M, which was $4.9M above budget and $1.4M above last year.
• Operating Expenses for the month were $10.0M for the month which was $0.1M above Budget and $1.5m below Last Year. 
• Year To Date (1 Aug to 30 Nov) Operating Profit was $61.2M which was $16.3M above Budget and $11.4M above Last Year. 
• Year To Date (1 Aug to 30 Nov) Operating Costs were $38.8M which was $577k above Budget and $8.7M below Last Year. 

November Distributions

Racing Codes were paid $14.4m in actual distributions for November versus $12.9M budgeted. This consisted of TAB NZ betting profit (listed as Fixed Distribution in the table below), Offshore Bookmaker Commission Fees, which are based on actual turnover (termed Betting Information User Charge (BIUC) in the table below), and Betting Duty repeal.

November Wagering Performance 

• Turnover of $232.6M was $27.6M above Budget and was driven by all products; Sport +$3.9M, International Racing +$9.6M, Domestic Racing +$11.4M and VIP +$2.7M. 
• Gross Betting Revenue was $41.6M, $8.7M above Budget and $6.7M above Last Year. 
• The total active customer base to have bet in November was 140,500 customers. 

Top 10 Sporting events by turnover

Top 10 Racing events by turnover