South Korean gaming operator Paradise Co Ltd says its casino sales for August rose by 36.1 percent year-on-year, to nearly KRW69.28 billion (US$57.3 million). Judged month-on-month, last month’s casino sales fell by 6.0 percent compared to July, according to a Tuesday filing.
The year-on-year increase in casino sales was due to a 39.1-percent jump in table game sales during the month of August, to about KRW65.93 billion. Machine game sales however declined by 4.3 percent year-on-year, to approximately KRW3.35 billion, the firm said in the filing to the Korea Exchange.
No commentary on the reasons for revenue fluctuations is given in the company’s monthly updates.
Paradise Co said casino sales for the first eight months of 2019 rose by 21.1 percent year-on-year, to nearly KRW494.45 billion.
Table game sales for the period were up 22.4 percent to about KRW464.87 billion, while machine game sales increased by 4.2 percent to KRW29.58 billion.
Paradise Co’s figures are based on gaming at four properties. The casino at each one is only permitted to serve foreign customers. The venues are: Walkerhill in Seoul; the Jeju Grand, on Jeju island; Busan Casino in the southern port city of Busan; and Paradise City, at Incheon, close to the country’s main international airport serving the capital, Seoul. The latter gaming venue has been promoted in partnership with a unit of Japanese entertainment conglomerate Sega Sammy Holdings Inc.
Table drop – the amount of cash exchanged for chips at the firm’s gaming tables – was about KRW4.65 trillion in the first eight months of 2019, 25.3 percent higher than in the prior-year period.
Paradise Co reported last month a second-quarter net loss amounting to KRW2.06 billion. For the first six months of 2019, the firm recorded an accumulated loss of approximately KRW9.59 billion, it said.
Brokerage JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd said in a recent note that it expects Paradise Co to return to profit in the third quarter this year, “given continued ramp of Paradise City [casino resort] and likely improving hold ratio”.
