Casino operator Landing Intl has US$272mln loss in 2020

Apr 01, 2021 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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South Korea casino resort operator Landing International Development Ltd said its net loss for full-year 2020 was approximately HKD2.12 billion (US$272.0 million), slightly narrowed from the net loss at HKD2.13 billion in 2019, according to its annual results filed on Thursday.

Hong Kong-listed Landing International developed and operates the Jeju Shinhwa World resort (pictured in a file photo) and its foreigner-only gaming facility, Landing Casino, on the South Korean island of Jeju. The parent firm also develops property.

The firm said the slightly-narrowed annual loss was thanks to factors including cutting operating expenses and “employee-benefit expenses”.

The firm’s consolidated revenue for 2020 was HKD788.01 million, a year-on-year decline of 3.4 percent, linked to fewer visitors to Landing Casino amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and lower property sales.

Gaming-business revenue for 2020 was down 12.5 percent year-on-year to HKD186.49 million. The segment loss was approximately HKD509.38 million, up from HKD469 million in the previous fiscal year.

Landing Casino hosts 155 gaming tables, 239 slot machines and electronic table games.

The firm noted the Jeju market faced in 2020 Covid-19-related travel restrictions. They included: Covid-19 testing before arrival in Jeju, and a 14-day self-quarantine requirement for inbound visitors regardless of test outcome.

“Large scale expansion projects” at Jeju Shinhwa World, “such as Four Seasons Resorts and Lionsgate Movie World, were suspended to preserve healthy liquidity of the group,” Landing International explained in the filing.

The firm would “continue to focus” on South Korea’s domestic market for resort customers while other travel curbs remained.

Jeju Shinhwa World generated segment revenue in 2020 of approximately HKD504.23 million, up by 3.2 percent when compared to 2019. Such revenue was mainly generated from the hotels, meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) events, food and beverage services,  theme parks, and merchandise sales, as well as lease of retail space in the resort complex.

“We will continue to implement stringent cost control measures to enhance our competitiveness,” to get “ready for the recovery of overseas demand,” the firm stated in the filing.

The group also included in its results a brief update on its previously-flagged pursuit of a casino resort scheme in Manila, in the Philippines.

“Due to the lockdown and travel restrictions in the Philippines, the group has faced difficulties in identifying another lease of land as required by Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) for the development of an integrated resort in the Philippines,” Landing International stated in the filing.

It added: “However, the group has been granted a suspension by Pagcor of the prescribed period…under which the group is allowed to have further time to submit a remedy for the provisional licence.”

The firm noted in the filing that it would adopt a “cautious” approach to assess the “feasibility” of the lease of land in the Philippines and its development.

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