Crown Resorts No Longer Features On Fitch Rating’s Negative Watch List

Australian casino operator Crown Resorts received some good news towards the end of October when government of Victoria decided that it could still keep its flagship Crown Melbourne casino license.

The Royal Commission recommended to the government of Victoria that Crown Resorts be stripped of its Melbourne casino license due to its numerous and deliberate failings but suggested that Crown Melbourne be given a two year grace period to clean up its act. This grace period recommendation was made due to the fact that Crown Melbourne is the biggest employer in Victoria.

Crown Resorts will also be pleased to know that Fitch Ratings has now removed it from its Rating Watch Negative (RWN) list. Fitch put Crown Resorts on its RWN list in Nov 2020 after that Australian casino was subject to multiple investigations for non-compliance. Since Crown Melbourne did not lose its casino license, Fitch decided to remove the operator from its RWN list.

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Fitch Ratings has also estimated that Crown Resorts will see an increase in revenue in the coming years. The ratings agency estimates a 15 percent increase in the fiscal ending 2022 and a 50 percent increase in 2023. Those are very optimistic predictions given the turbulence that Crown Resorts has had to face in the last two years.

While Fitch has removed Crown Resorts from its RWN list, it continues to keep Crown at a BBB level on its Issuer Default Rating which is a negative. This view was also shared by Moody’s Investors Service which is another ratings agency that has also given Crown a negative outlook and an issuer rating of “Baa3”.

Crown Rolls Out Mandatory Vaccination Policy

Crown Resorts announced this week that it was rolling out a mandatory vaccination policy across all its properties similar to other countries such as Italy and France did. Crown Melbourne has also open its doors to business after being shut on August 09 due to an outbreak of COVID-19. Steve McCann, CEO and MD for Crown Resorts said they were happy to welcome thousands of their employees back to Crown Melbourne and looked forward to providing exceptional service to their patrons yet again.

McCann said that they decided to move forward with a mandatory vaccination policy as they wanted to protect their employees and put their health first. Crown initially suggested the mandatory vaccination policy in September and after a strong response decided to make it mandatory going forward.