Feb 20, 2024 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  
Casino developer and operator NagaCorp Ltd reported a net profit of US$177.7 million for full-year 2023, up by 65.7 percent year-on-year. Such profit was on revenue that rose by 15.7 percent compared to the previous year, to US$533.2 million, said the company in a filing on Monday.
The group generated earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$295.3 million for full-year 2023, compared to US$245.4 million in the previous year, up by 20.3 percent. It recorded an EBITDA margin of 55.4 percent during 2023 versus 53.3 percent in 2022.
Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp has a long-life monopoly casino licence for the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, where it operates its NagaWorld resort complex (pictured).
The firm did not propose a final dividend for 2023. It had paid a final dividend of US$0.0075 per share for 2022, by way of scrip shares.
NagaCorp’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) grew by 15.5 percent year-on-year, to US$514.8 million. The increase in gaming revenue was mainly supported by the VIP segment, according to data by the company.
The firm stated it had observed “an acceleration of growth in the premium VIP market”. The company said that premium VIP market rollings increased by 46.5 percent year-on-year, to hit US$4.29 billion in 2023, a “recovery of 97.7 percent compared to full-year 2019”, prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The segment produced full-2023 GGR of US$133.6 million, compared to US$91.4 million a year before.
“The continuing return of business-related travellers – with longer repeated stays and higher spending power – to Cambodia contributed to the growth of this segment as substantiated by the increase in average rollings per premium VIP player of about 38.3 percent in full-year 2023 as compared to the previous year,” the firm said. It pointed in particular to a rebound in business-related travels from mainland China to Cambodia.
What the company called “referral VIP market GGR” grew by 67.6 percent, to US$44.2 million.
NagaCorp said it had recorded “an increasing headcount of referral VIP customers from broader diversified geographical locations, especially from neighbouring countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.”
It added: “The group will continue to pursue and work with reputable referral VIP agents.”
Revenue from mass-market tables reached US$209.7 million, up 2.9 percent from the prior year. GGR from electronic gaming machines increased by 2.4 percent year-on-year, to US$127.3 million.
The casino firm also provided an update on its development of the Naga 3 project, an expansion to the NagaWorld casino resort. It confirmed that construction works for the foundation and basement floors were expected to be completed during the current quarter, as previously announced.
NagaCorp also said in its Monday results filing that development of its planned gaming resort in Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East, remained “suspended indefinitely until the circumstance is clearer”. Construction work was stopped in March 2022. At the time the stoppage was understood to be linked with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, although that was not confirmed by NagaCorp.
As of end 2023, the group’s cash and deposits were US$367.6 million, compared to US$175.2 million 12 months before. “The accumulated cash and cash equivalents demonstrate the continued ability of the company to retain a stable cash position sufficient to fund cash expenditures during the year,” it highlighted.
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