GGRAsia – Junket investor Iao Kun 3Q chip roll falls 71 pct

Junket investor Iao Kun 3Q chip roll falls 71 pct

Nov 20, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

VIP gambling room investor Iao Kun Group Holding Co Ltd (IKGH) saw its third quarter rolling chip turnover fall 71 percent year-on-year. Such turnover was US$1.3 billion, compared to US$4.3 billion in the year-prior period.

The firm’s net loss for the three months to September 30 narrowed to US$0.3 million, or US$0.01 per basic and diluted share, compared to a net loss of US$12.2 million, or US$0.20 net loss per share (basic and diluted), for the same period of 2014. The company said such narrowing in net loss in the third quarter this year included a gain in fair value of contingent consideration of US$1.5 million related to the King’s Gaming, Bao Li Gaming and Oriental VIP Room acquisitions.

Non-GAAP income – operating income before amortisation of intangible assets, impairment of goodwill and the change in fair value of contingent consideration related to the acquisitions of King’s Gaming, Bao Li Gaming and Oriental VIP Room – was US$2.3 million, or US$0.04 in earnings per share (basic and diluted), for the three months ended September 30, compared to a non-GAAP loss of US$1.1 million, or US$0.02 loss per share (basic and diluted), for the three months ended September 30, 2014.

In the third quarter this year, Iao Kun recorded revenue of US$22.4 million, a 57 percent decrease from the same period of 2014.

It said in an announcement to Nasdaq in New York on Thursday this was: “…primarily due to lower rolling chip turnover during the quarter, as well as (i) a decrease of players for VIP baccarat, consistent with the overall decline of gaming revenue in Macau; (ii) the economic downturn and ongoing anti-corruption campaign in mainland China, where the majority of IKGH’s VIP gaming patrons reside, and (iii) the continued tightening of government policies in mainland China.”

Rolling chip turnover is a metric used by casinos to measure the aggregate amount of players’ bets and overall volume of VIP gaming room business transacted.

Lam Man Pou, the company’s chairman, stated: “We continue to carefully navigate the VIP market in Macau and manage our capital as the ongoing macro environment continues to be challenging.”

Mr Lam added: “…we continue to be on the lookout for additional VIP opportunities in overseas markets to complement our Australian interests and to further diversify our current sources of revenue. We remain committed to finding appropriate opportunities to expand our presence and ultimately generate long-term value for our shareholders.”

The company is maintaining its guidance for 2015 rolling chip turnover – at its five existing VIP rooms in Macau – of US$6.0 billion to US$7.0 billion.

The statement added that Iao Kun had “recently started trial operations” at Crown Perth and Crown Melbourne – two Australian casino resorts run by Crown Resorts Ltd – “to gain a greater understanding of the preferences of its junket agents and VIP players and the logistics of the market”.

“As of today, nominal revenues… generated by the Australia operation equal to our costs as we test this market,” the firm stated in its filing.