South Korea-listed foreigner-only casino operators Paradise Co Ltd and Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd each announced on Wednesday intention to pay a year-end cash dividend, though their financial performance showed divergence for the 2024 financial year.
The dividends were mentioned among filings each made that day to the Korea Exchange, including for their unaudited full-year and fourth-quarter trading.
Paradise Co recorded group-wide net income at KRW104.3 billion (US$71.77 million) for the 12 months to December 31, up 30.1 percent year-on-year. Fourth-quarter net income was in the black compared to a year ago, at KRW30.1 billion, according to the company’s unaudited financial information outlined on Wednesday to the Korea Exchange.
Paradise Co controls outright three casino venues: Paradise Walkerhill in Seoul; Paradise Jeju on Jeju island; and a property in the port city of Busan. It also has a venture with Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings Inc for the Paradise City casino resort at Incheon, near South Korea’s main airport.
The company’s full-year sales in 2024 reached approximately KRW1.07 trillion, up 7.8 percent year-on-year. Its operating income for the full year however declined by 6.7 percent year-on-year to KRW136.1 billion.
Paradise Co plans to pay on April 25 – subject to board and shareholder approval – a year-end cash dividend of KRW150 per unit of common stock. The company’s total dividend payout under the exercise would be approximately KRW12.95 billion.
Grand Korea Leisure saw its full-year 2024 net income down 24.6 percent year-on-year to KRW33.06 billion. But its fourth-quarter net income surged 221.5 percent year-on-year, to nearly KRW5.49 billion.
Grand Korea Leisure runs three foreigner-only Seven Luck-branded casinos: two in the capital Seoul, including in Gangnam, and one in the southeastern port city of Busan. The company is a subsidiary of the Korea Tourism Organization, which in turn is affiliated to the country’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
In 2024, Grand Korea Leisure’s full-year sales reached KRW396.39 billion, flat from a year ago. Operating income for the full year declined by 24.9 percent year-on-year to KRW38.33 billion.
It also plans to pay its year-end cash dividend on April 25, at KRW222 per unit of common stock. The company’s total payout under the move, would be approximately KRW13.73 billion.
