Japanese gaming conglomerate Sega Sammy Holdings Inc said that – judged on an equity basis – a South Korean casino resort catering for foreigner-only business, in which it is a partner, contributed sales of KRW84.4 billion (US$75.1 million) and operating income of KRW1.8 billion to its balance sheet for the third fiscal quarter ending December 31.
Sega Sammy Holdings is a partner alongside South Korean casino operator Paradise Co Ltd in the Paradise City resort near South Korea’s Incheon International Airport.
Sega Sammy Holdings said in a Tuesday filing to Jasdaq that its share of sales and profits from Paradise City had increased compared to the same period in the prior fiscal year, and that the property “continuously attracted a large number of Japanese visitors”.
The Japanese conglomerate – which already has a large pachinko and pachislot amusement game business in the domestic market, and has a United States-based affiliate called Sega Sammy Creation Inc focused on developing casino games – has expressed ambitions to run a casino in Japan under that nation’s liberalisation move.
Sega Sammy Holdings also operates the Phoenix Seagaia Resort, in Miyazaki, Japan – a property with no casino but that allows the conglomerate to gain experience on the operations of resorts, the firm said in its presentation paper.
In Tuesday’s filing, Sega Sammy Holdings said its resort business recorded aggregate sales of JPY7.9 billion (US$72 million) for the three months to December 31, up 8.2 percent from the prior-year period. The company still reported an operating loss of JPY1.9 billion for the period, compared to JPY1.8 billion a year earlier. Sega Sammy Holdings raised its sales forecast in the resort segment to JPY10.5 billion for its fiscal full year.
Sega Sammy Holdings reported group-wide sales of JPY250.3 billion for the first three fiscal quarters, compared to JPY260.8 billion a year earlier. The company said net profit for the period was JPY600 million, down from JPY13.7 billion in the prior-year period.
The Japanese company noted in a follow-up filing on Wednesday that it was likely to swing to a group-wide JPY1.5-billion loss for full financial year, ending March 31. In fiscal 2018 the group made JPY8.9 billion in profit.
The group would be hurt by an impairment loss of approximately JPY6.1 billion relating to fixed assets in digital games owned by Sega Games Co Ltd, the parent said.
