GGRAsia – Paradise Co posts sharp Feb casino revenue decline

Paradise Co posts sharp Feb casino revenue decline

Mar 04, 2021 Emanuel Graça Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck

Paradise Co Ltd, an operator in South Korea of foreigner-only casinos, said in a Wednesday filing that its February casino revenue declined 36.5 percent judged month-on-month. Measured year-on-year, such revenue fell 72.9 percent.

The group’s February casino revenue was just under KRW17.38 billion (US$15.4 million), a decrease on the KRW27.37 billion achieved in January this year, and a even larger decline versus the more than KRW64.10 billion achieved in February 2020.

Paradise Co’s gaming operations are at: Walkerhill in Seoul; Jeju Grand on Jeju Island; Busan Casino in the southern port city of Busan; and Paradise City (pictured in a file photo), in Incheon, near the main international airport serving the country’s capital Seoul.

Foreigner-only casino operations in South Korea continue to face headwinds as a result of measures to counter Covid-19 across the country. Measures include so-called social distancing protocols nationwide and restrictions on international travelling.

Paradise Co said last week its fourth-quarter net loss stood at KRW59.21 billion, a 263.3 percent increase from the KRW16.30 billion recorded in the preceding quarter. The company had reported a net loss of nearly KRW9.52 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019.

February’s table game revenue at Paradise Co was down 40.1 percent sequentially, at nearly KRW15.32 billion. It was down 74.6 percent year-on-year, compared to the just above KRW62.26 billion in February 2020.

Machine game revenue for last month was down 14.7 percent month-on-month, at above KRW2.06 billion. Judged year-on-year, such February revenue slipped 46.3 percent.

The latest monthly data took Paradise Co’s accumulated casino revenue for the first two months of 2021 to just below KRW44.75 billion, which was 67.0 percent down from the prior-year period.

Accumulated table revenue for the January-February period was almost KRW40.89 billion, down 68.0 percent year-on-year, while aggregate machine game revenue was just above KRW3.86 billion for the first two months of this year, a decline of 50.1 percent from a year earlier.