New Zealand casino operator SkyCity Entertainment Group says its year-old online gambling site has already turned a profit thanks in part to COVID-19.

SkyCity released its fiscal 2020 annual report on Thursday, which showed the company generating revenue of NZ$1.125b (US$761m) in the 12 months ending June 30, a 36.8% rise over FY19’s result. Earnings rose nearly 17% to NZ$348.3m while net profit after tax (NPAT) shot up 62.8% to NZ$235.4m.  

The gains came despite a tumultuous fiscal year that saw a major fire at its unfinished New Zealand International Convention Center (NZICC) in Auckland, as well as the shutdown of its three NZ casinos and its casino in Adelaide, Australia in March due to COVID-19.

On a ‘normalized’ level, which tries to compare apples to apples, revenue was down nearly one-quarter to NZ$779.5m, earnings slid 37.7% to NZ$200.7m and NPAT tumbled nearly 60% to NZ$66.3m.