GGRAsia – Palasino annual profit down 81pct on one-off expenses

Palasino annual profit down 81pct on one-off expenses

Jun 27, 2024 Newsdesk Latest News, Top of the deck, World

Hong Kong-listed Palasino Holdings Ltd, which runs gaming and hospitality complexes in Europe, reported a profit attributable to shareholders of just above HKD8.5 million (US$1.1 million) for the 12 months to March 31. That compared with a HKD44.2-million profit in the prior financial year.

“The profitability of the business was mainly affected by several one-off expenses and online gaming expenses,” stated the company in its annual results filing, published on Wednesday.

Palasino Holdings – which runs three land-based casinos in the Czech Republic and hotels in Germany and Austria – listed in Hong Kong in March. It is a spin-off from Hong Kong-listed property developer Far East Consortium International Ltd.

Palasino Holdings reported annual revenue of HKD564.3 million, up 6.7 percent from the prior year. Gaming revenue for the 12 months to March 31 stood at HKD402.4 million, up 3.0 percent year-on-year.

The group’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were flat year-on-year, at HKD85.5 million.

In the filing, Palasino Holdings said it would “continue to expand its online gaming business,” using the licence approved by the Malta Gaming Authority in November 2022. The company said it “plans to apply for an online gaming licence in the Czech Republic during the financial year ending 31 March 2025, to support the land-based casino operations”.

The company also said it was “exploring business-to-business opportunities”, including via its subsidiary Palasino Technology (HK) Ltd.

Palasino Technology signed in May a memorandum of understanding with Taiwan-listed gaming technology firm GameSparcs Co Ltd, with a view to licensing the latter’s online game content, including in markets in Asia.

GameSparcs distributes mobile games, develops its own online gaming platforms, and supplies LAN (local area network) -based gaming systems suitable for Internet cafes.

According to Wednesday’s filing, Palasino Holdings completed in February the acquisition of a shopping mall in the city of Mikulov, in Czech Republic.

“The group intends to convert it into a casino which would be the group’s fourth in the Czech Republic,” stated the firm.

Outside of the reporting period, in April, a linked unit of Palasino Holdings, Palasino Poland Sp. z.o.o., took part in the “first casino licence tender application in the region of Lubuskie”, in Poland.

“Palasino Poland is also continually looking for other potential casino licence tenders and potential acquisition opportunities in Poland to further pursue the strategy of entering into the casino market in Poland,” added the parent company.