Third-quarter group adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 57.3 percent year-on-year at casino equipment maker and gaming management services firm Paradise Entertainment Ltd.
Such EBITDA was HKD19.7 million (US$2.5 million), compared to HKD46.1 million in third quarter 2017.
The news was given in selected unaudited “key performance indicators” for the third quarter filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday afternoon.
But for the first nine months of the year, the firm reported EBITDA of HKD79.4 million, representing an increase of 68.9 percent from HKD47.0 million in the same period a year earlier.
A number of investment analysts have indicated casino equipment makers often have choppy earnings – especially if they rely on non-recurring sources of revenue, such as supply of new electronic machines, as the sales flow can be dependent on new properties opening.
Paradise Entertainment supplies electronic gaming machines under the LT Game brand, and specialises in so-called live multi game products – featuring a live dealer but automated betting and bet settlement.
The firm has diversified into virtual reality products and also to casino management in some Macau satellite casinos, although the satellite casino sector – typically made up of older-style casino hotels with few non-gaming facilities – tends to be more vulnerable to a downturn in earnings than the big resorts when there is an overall downturn in the local gaming market, according to some analysts.
Paradise Entertainment said that in the three months to September 30, total reported group revenue was HKD272.3 million, up 1.9 percent from HKD267.3 million in the corresponding period in 2017.
For the first nine months, such revenue was HKD836.2 million, representing an increase of 10.5 percent from HKD756.6 million in the corresponding period a year earlier.
Total gross gaming revenue (GGR) from third-quarter gaming operations at Casino Kam Pek Paradise on Macau peninsula – run under the Macau gaming licence of SJM Holdings Ltd – was HKD356.5 million, an increase of 6.1 percent from HKD336.1 million a year earlier. Judged on the first nine months, Kam Pek’s aggregate GGR was HKD1.04 billion, said Paradise Entertainment, representing an increase of 13.0 percent from the HKD923.8 million achieved in the same period a year earlier.
Total third-quarter GGR from the gaming operations at Casino Waldo in downtown Macau – run under the licence of Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd – was HKD133.7 million, a decrease of 3.5 percent from HKD138.6 million in third-quarter 2017. Judged in the calendar year to September 30, such GGR was HKD370.7 million, down 4.4 percent from HKD387.6 million in the prior-year period.
Paradise Entertainment said that as of September 30, it held bank balances and cash amounting to HKD251.9 million and chips on hand amounting to HKD30.6 million.
