Australian casino operator The Star Entertainment Group lost over AU$94m (US$67.6m) in its most recent fiscal year as COVID-19 spoiled what was shaping up to be a record performance for the company.

Figures released Thursday show The Star’s revenue coming in just under AU$1.5b in the 12 months ending June 30, a 31% decline from fiscal 2018-19. Earnings fell by nearly half to AU$282m while the company booked a net loss of AU$94.6m versus a net profit of AU$148m the previous year.

Australian casino companies also report ‘normalized’ results that pretend the inherent volatility in the VIP gambling sector doesn’t exist. On that fantasy island, revenue was down only 21% to AU$1.8b, earnings dipped only 22.8% to AU$421m and the company actually booked a profit of AU$176m. (Jump in, the water’s warm… Ignore those penguins swimming by.)  

The Star’s chairman John O’Neill said the company had delivered record earnings from July 2019 through February 2020, after which Australia’s land-based gaming operators were shut down by COVID. The company’s flagship eponymous casino in Sydney reopened on a partial basis in June before opening up the floodgates in July (after the 2019-20 fiscal year had ended) only to impose new restrictions a few weeks later.