GGRAsia – GKL reports net loss of US$95mln in full-year 2021

GKL reports net loss of US$95mln in full-year 2021

Feb 11, 2022 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck

Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd (GKL), an operator in South Korea of foreigner-only casinos, reported on Friday a full-year 2021 net loss of KRW113.27 billion (US$94.7 million), wider by 76.1 percent from the KRW64.3-billion loss in 2020.

The casino operator recorded an operating loss of KRW145.83 billion for 2021, compared to KRW88.81 billion in the previous year, according to its financial statements filed to the Korea Stock Exchange.

In 2021, Grand Korea Leisure achieved sales of just under KRW85.1 billion, a 53.9-percent decline from a previous year. The company cited the prolonged closure of its casinos and absence of visitors from “major customer” sources as the main factors for the decline in its sales last year.

Grand Korea Leisure is a subsidiary of the Korea Tourism Organization, which in turn is affiliated to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The casino-operating entity runs three foreigner-only casinos in South Korea under the Seven Luck brand: two in the capital Seoul, and one in the southern port city of Busan.

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, operations of the three Seven Luck casinos were temporarily paused during 2021, the company noted in a separate release along with the annual results.

On Friday, the company said its fourth-quarter net loss was nearly KRW34.38 billion, compared to KRW23.41 billion in the previous quarter and KRW32.71 billion in the prior-year period.

The company’s fourth-quarter sales were KRW21.58 billion, up 44.5 percent year-on-year. But measured sequentially, the fourth-quarter sales were down 14.6 percent.