Paradise Co Ltd, an operator of foreigner-only casinos in South Korea, saw its net profit attributable to shareholders decline 1.6 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, to just under KRW18.61 billion (US$14.2 million).
The profit that was achieved in the three months to June 30 had been backed by a KRW68.60 billion “one-off gain from a disposal of a building,” said the group in a Wednesday filing to the Korea Exchange.
In the first quarter this year, Paradise Co had recorded a nearly KRW28.58-billion net loss.
Second-quarter casino sales fell 5.8 percent year-on-year, to KRW28.81 billion. Measured quarter-on-quarter, they were down 7.0 percent. The group said it had continued to “generate casino revenue from locals and expatriates” during the reporting period.
According to some industry commentators, South Korea’s foreigner-only casinos benefit from some custom provided by nationals of that country who either hold residency rights overseas or have a passport issued by another nation.
Paradise Co said an increase in quarterly hotel accommodation sales had been “backed by strong domestic demand in the second quarter”. Such sales rose 31.4 percent year-on-year, to KRW28.38 billion. Quarter-on-quarter they were up 30.9 percent.
Sales from “integrated resort” operations – from its venture with Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings Inc at the Paradise City resort at Incheon – rose 42.1 percent year-on-year, to nearly KRW45.22 billion. Judged sequentially, such sales were down by 1.0 percent.
The integrated resort sales figure incorporates casino, hotel and theme park sales at Paradise City.
Paradise Co said that the venture at the Incheon complex was expected to enjoy “operating profit turnaround from the third quarter” onward, “backed by a casino recovery caused by Japan VIPs and strong hotel revenue in high season”.
Visa-free entry to South Korea is being permitted during August for respective holders of travel documents issued by either Japan, Taiwan or Macau.
On June 1, the country had restarted several short-term visa programmes for foreign visitors, having suspended them for circa two years, during the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, though one casino operator subsequently told GGRAsia it had been taking a month to process applications for some tourism visas.
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.
