Kangwon Land Inc, the operator of the only casino resort in South Korea where the country’s nationals are allowed to gamble, reported net income of KRW124.3 billion (US$108.4 million) for the third quarter of 2016, up by 4.5 percent from the prior-year period.
Revenue from sales increased by 6 percent year-on-year to KRW438.1 billion in the three months to September 30, the company said in a filing to the Korea Exchange on Wednesday.
Operating income for the three-month period grew by 2.4 percent year-on-year to KRW161.7 billion, Kangwon Land reported.
For the first nine months of 2016, the casino operator reported accumulated net income of KRW390.8 billion, up by 12.1 percent from the prior-year period.
Brokerage Daiwa Securities Group Inc had said in a note in July that it expected Kangwon Land to show “solid revenue and earnings growth” in the second half of 2016. Analyst Thomas Kwon said such growth was likely to be “mainly driven by the growing number of casual gamers for mass-table games and new slot machines, and its [Kangwon Land’s] disciplined cost strategy”.
South Korea currently has 17 casinos, but the country’s nationals are only allowed to gamble at Kangwon Land casino resort (pictured) in an upland area of Kangwon province – 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the country’s capital Seoul.
In August, South Korea’s state auditor urged the country’s government to introduce tighter rules to curb gambling addiction that affects some South Korean nationals visiting the Kangwon Land casino resort, reported local media.
The management of Kangwon Land announced in October it would tighten its customer entry rules as a measure to prevent gambling addiction.
The Korea Times reported last month that the casino property was proposing to ban – for up to three months – entry to the property by suspected gambling addicts. The measure could be in place by next year, the firm’s chief executive Ham Seung-huie reportedly said.
