Back
in 1996 the Federal Group’s leisure business comprised the two casinos. Its
revenue in that year was $134 million, well over half coming from gaming
activities including tables, pokies and Keno. Net profit after tax for the
leisure business was $4.4 million. The Group’s freight business provided another
$2.2 million in profit. Borrowings were $50 million. In 1996 there was no spare
cash to pay dividends to shareholders.
All
was soon to change. On the first of January 1997 poker machines were rolled out
into the community. Over the next 20 year the Group bought 12 pubs, the 9/11
bottleshop chain, built the Saffire resort, bought the leasehold business known
as the Henry Jones Art Hotel, and acquired the lease on the new Maq01 hotel on
Hobart’s waterfront. The cash tsunami
was such there was enough left over to pay $238 million as dividends to
shareholders over the period. At the end on the 2016 year borrowings were $123
million, an increase of only $73 million over the 20 year period. Cash from
pokies funded the show.
