JP Morgan tips Kangwon Land to maintain GGR growth in 2H

Aug 09, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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Brokerage JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd forecasts that the gross gaming revenue (GGR) of South Korean casino operator Kangwon Land Inc will keep growing in the second half of 2019 at an annual rate of about 6 percent or 7 percent.

Kangwon Land runs the Kangwon Land resort (pictured), to the northeast of Seoul, which has the only casino in the country where South Koreans are allowed to gamble.

The stockbroking arm of JP Morgan issued on Thursday a note containing forecasts made in the light of the financial results of Kangwon Land for the second quarter of 2019.

JP Morgan forecasts that in 2020 and 2021 Kangwon Land’s GGR will grow at annual rates of about 5 percent or 6 percent.

“These are all decent, if not solid, levels of growth, but they are already baked into market expectations,” wrote analyst DS Kim.

Kangwon Land announced on Thursday that the net profit attributable to the shareholders of its parent company was just over KRW50.94 billion (US$42.12 million) in the second quarter, 46.1 percent less than a year earlier.

Its second-quarter sales grew by 7.5 percent to just over KRW364.26 billion. Second-quarter operating profit rose by 50.2 percent to just above KRW172.77 billion, Kangwon Land announced.

The JP Morgan note said Kangwon Land second-quarter GGR grew by 6 percent to KRW363 billion, growing in both the VIP market and the mass market.

According to a separate presentation filed on Thursday, Kangwon Land’s sales in the mass table segment increased by 6.9 percent year-on-year to KRW162.1 billion in the second quarter, while sales from slot machines rose by 2.7 percent to KRW139.4 billion.

Revenue from its so-called “Membership Club” segment amounted to KRW61.6 billion in the period, up by 13.3 percent when compared to a year ago.

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