Paradise Co Ltd, an operator of foreigner-only casinos in South Korea, reported net loss attributable to shareholders of just under KRW3.91 billion (US$3.0 million) for the fourth quarter, according to a Wednesday filing to the Korea Exchange. That was an improvement on the KRW47.04-billion loss a year earlier, but contrasted with the KRW39.37-billion profit in the third quarter.
The casino firm reported fourth-quarter sales of KRW193.20 billion, up 2.0 percent sequentially, and a 73.3-percent increase from the prior-year period.
In a separate presentation published on Wednesday, the company said casino sales in the last three months of 2022 fell 17.0 percent quarter-on-quarter, to KRW59.31 billion. They were up 19.7 percent from a year earlier.
In its own right, Paradise Co runs the casino venues Walkerhill in Seoul; Paradise Jeju on Jeju island; and a property in the port city of Busan.
Sales from “integrated resort” operations – from its venture with Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings Inc at the Paradise City resort (pictured) at Incheon – rose 27.7 percent quarter-on-quarter, to just under KRW100.79 billion. Judged year-on-year, such sales were up 186.1 percent.
The integrated resort sales figure incorporates casino, hotel and theme park sales at Paradise City.
Cost of sales for the Paradise Sega Sammy combined venture went up 66.0 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter, to KRW78.10 billion.
Group-wide cost of sales in the three months to December 31 were KRW157.76 billion, rising 15.3 percent sequentially, and 32.6 percent in year-on-year terms.
Operating income for the reporting period stood at KRW18.23 billion, down 52.5 percent from the preceding quarter, but an improvement on the KRW20.42-billion loss in the final quarter of 2021.
For full-year 2022, Paradise Co posted a net profit of KRW25.49 billion, compared to a loss of KRW52.53 billion in the prior year. Aggregate sales grew by 41.8 percent year-on-year, to KRW587.64 billion, with casino sales up 17.0 percent, at KRW190.58 billion.
Sales in its integrated resort business rose by 67.5 percent year-on-year, to nearly KRW270.58 billion, said the firm.
