GGRAsia – Iao Kun rolling chip up in Aug despite challenging backdrop

Iao Kun rolling chip up in Aug despite challenging backdrop

Sep 04, 2014 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Nasdaq-listed junket operator Iao Kun Group Holding Co Ltd announced an unaudited rolling chip turnover increase of 3 percent in year-on-year terms for August. The company promotes five VIP rooms in Macau.

Total rolling chip turnover – a metric used by casinos to measure the aggregate amount of player bets and overall volume of VIP gaming room business – for the month was US$1.53 billion, the firm said in a statement on Wednesday.

Iao Kun’s win rate for August was 2.50 percent.

The increase in rolling chip turnover was achieved against a challenging environment in Macau, especially in the VIP segment, which has been down for most of the year to date.

Macau’s casino industry has been posting market-wide year-on-year monthly revenue drops since June. Casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) dropped by 6.1 percent in August, to MOP28.9 billion (US$3.6 billion).

Initial channel checks by Credit Suisse AG show August GGR from the VIP segment was down by “high-teens on a year-on-year basis (worse than [the] -14 percent year-on-year in July 2014) on lower luck factor”.

Iao Kun’s rolling chip turnover for the eight months to August 31 was US$12.56 billion, an average of US$1.57 billion per month, and up by 9 percent in year-over-year terms, the firm said.

The company recently reported a year-on-year 22-percent drop in revenue, to US$49.7 million, for the three months to June 30.

The firm is proceeding with an application for a dual listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange. It is targeting to complete the operation later this year.