GGRAsia – Palasino posts US$2mln interim profit, eyes Asian markets

Palasino posts US$2mln interim profit, eyes Asian markets

Nov 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 under HKD15.7 million (US$2.0 million) for the six months to September 30, the firm’s fiscal half year. That compared with a HKD17.1-million profit in the prior-year period, according to a results filing published on Tuesday.

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 interim revenue of HKD282.1 million, up 1.4 percent from a year earlier. Gaming revenue for the six months to September 30 stood at HKD196.1 million, 0.9 percent higher year-on-year.

The company operated a total of 630 slot machines as of September 30, compared with 568 units as of March 31 this year. In July, the group said it had installed “new slot machines and game sets” across its casinos, provided by International Game Technology Plc (IGT).

The increase in slot machines in operation was with the “aim of capitalising on the growth in the gaming industry,” stated the company in its latest filing.

The group’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were down 41.8 percent year-on-year, at nearly HKD30.4 million.

In Tuesday’s filing, Palasino Holdings said it was “actively looking at other European and Asian jurisdictions for … land-based casino opportunities to expand the business”.

The firm completed in February the acquisition of a shopping mall in the city of Mikulov, in Czech Republic. During the reporting period, the company “started preparations” to convert the building “into a casino. which would be the group’s fourth in the Czech Republic”.

The group also said one of its units, Palasino Poland Sp. z.o.o., “continues to search for and consider potential acquisition and partnership opportunities to further pursue the strategy of entering into the casino market in Poland”.

Palasino Holdings stated it spent about HKD12 million during the reporting period in the development of the group’s online gaming business. Such spending consisted primarily of operating expenses, employee benefits, platform licence fees, cloud service and office expenses.

The online gaming business “generated no revenue” in the April to September period, noted the company.

The company said that its adjusted EBITDA amounted to HKD43 million in the six months to September 30 if excluding the online gaming business and the impact of foreign exchange rates.

Palasino Holdings clinched an online gaming licence from the Malta Gaming Authority in November 2022. The company said previously that it planned 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”.

Group subsidiary Palasino Technology (HK) Ltd 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.