Racing Australia Annual Report 2018

16 | RACING AUSTRALIA ANNUAL REPORT 2018 OPERATIONS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S REPORT Consistent with Racing Australia’s Core Objective to “Leverage existing assets further and identify new commercial opportunities” throughout the financial year Racing Australia continued to invest in developing new products and services while building upon its existing significant investment in people and infrastructure. Highlights for the 2017-2018 financial year include: • The launch of the Racing Australia Equine Genetics Research Centre (EGRC) in April 2018 which completed the last major element of the Australian Stud Book purchase by Racing Information Services Australia (RISA) which later merged with the Australian Racing Board (ARB) to create Racing Australia. Located within the Hunter Valley Equine Research Complex in Scone, Racing Australia now has a permanent presence in the heart of Australia’s leading Thoroughbred and Equine Breeding region which completes the DNA typing of all Thoroughbred foals to confirm parentage and establish a unique pedigree that is accessible throughout its life. The Centre will also provide services to 30 other horse breed societies across Australia. An estimated 20,000 tests will be analysed at the Centre. • The establishment of a Bureau Service to manage licensed person renewals and new licences was successfully completed leveraging the existing resources and experience within the Racing Australia Service Centre and the capabilities of the Single National System which provide Trainers, Jockeys and other licenced persons the ability to complete licence renewals and new licences online without the need to complete hard copy forms. One Principal Racing Authority uses the full Bureau Services while two of the largest PRAs each use the capabilities of the Single National System. • Development of the Single National System continued to progress providing the ability for Principal Racing Authorities and Race Clubs to progressively migrate core business processes onto the Single National System. Development of the Single National System provides the ability to complete Horse Registrations, Transfers and Leases online rather than completing paper forms. This is now the core focus of the Single National System development teams with significant enhancements due in late 2018. The 2017/2018 financial year produced another strong result for Racing Australia Limited and its Controlled entities. The consolidated result inclusive of depreciation and amortisation increased from $3,774,648 in 2016-2017 to $4,360,016 in 2017-2018, an increase of $585,368. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the year ended 30 June 2018 was $5,679,828 an increase of $545,253 on the previous financial year. Under the Racing Australian Constitution, surpluses are distributed back to the Principal Racing Authorities at the discretion of the Racing Australia Board to be reinvested in the thoroughbred racing industry in the form of Non-Repayable Grants. The Racing Australia shareholders have agreed to forego these Non-Repayable Grants until such time as Racing Australia’s debt has been extinguished. Highlights for the 2017-2018 financial year • Accelerated repayment of the bank loan to fund the purchase of the Australian Stud Book by $3,875,000 with a remaining loan balance of $3,892,512. • Cash reserves of $5,412,568. • $1,600,000 held in trust for the Jockey Insurance Program on behalf of the Principal Racing Authorities to administer the insurance premium aggregate deductible. • $453,621 held in trust for the Racing Australia Research fund being $20 collected for each Thoroughbred registration. • $55,290 held in trust for the Statutory Levy being $10 collected from the lodgement of each mare return and $10 for every mare covered by stallions. The statutory levy is paid to Agrifutures for research into Thoroughbred breeding and racing. • Continued investment in the Single National System project: • Decommissioning of the old Registrar of Racehorses System after completing development of new Registrar of Racehorses module in the SNS in early 2018. • One remaining Principal Racing Authority to transition due in January 2019. This will deliver on one of the core visions of Racing Australia, “One process, One system”. • Significant upgrades and enhancements to Racing Australia’s Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Systems and People capacity. OUR PEOPLE CONTINUE TO BE RACING AUSTRALIA’S GREATEST ASSET, THE KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE AND PASSION THEY COLLECTIVELY HAVE FOR THE THOROUGHBRED RACING INDUSTRY ARE WHAT MAKE THE CONTINUED GROWTH AND SERVICE DELIVERY POSSIBLE. Myles Foreman, Operations Chief Executive Officer