Grand Korea Leisure Ltd (GKL), a South Korean operator of foreigner-only casinos, reported a third-quarter net loss of nearly KRW22.78 billion (US$20.5 million), compared with net income of just under KRW25.29 billion in the prior-year period. The company had reported a net loss of KRW23.56 billion in the second quarter of 2020.
Third-quarter sales at GKL decreased by 73.9 percent year-on-year to nearly KRW34.78 billion, the firm said in a Monday filing with its unaudited quarterly results to the Korea Exchange. It was still a 49.4-percent improvement from the second quarter.
The company reported an operating loss of approximately KRW30.96 billion for the three months to September 30, compared with an operating profit of KRW30.60 billion a year earlier.
Aggregate sales for the first nine months of 2020 stood at nearly KRW169.53 billion, down 52.9 percent from the prior-year period.
The company recorded a net loss of KRW31.62 billion for the nine months to September 30, compared with a net profit of just above KRW54.08 billion a year earlier.
GKL is a subsidiary of the Korea Tourism Organization, which in turn is affiliated to South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The casino-operating entity runs three foreigner-only casinos in South Korea under the Seven Luck brand: two in the capital Seoul and one in the southern port city of Busan.
The company experienced a 43-day shutdown of its casino operations, from March 24 until May 6, as part of South Korea’s countermeasures against the local spread of Covid-19.
Since April 1, travellers to South Korea have been required to undergo a 14-day quarantine on arrival, according to a dedicated Covid-19 information website maintained by the national government. According to industry commentary, some of the players at the country’s foreigner-only casinos are South Korean nationals that hold at least one other passport.
In a filing to the Korean bourse last week, GKL said its accumulated casino sales for the calendar year to October 30 were down 54.5 percent year-on-year, to KRW180.54 billion.
