S. Korea’s GKL February casino sales down 13pct

Mar 08, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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South Korean gaming operator Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd (GKL) posted weaker sales in February, the firm announced on Thursday. The company reported casino sales of KRW31.82 billion (US$28.1 million) for that month, down 12.7 percent from the prior-year period.

Judged month-on-month, February casino sales fell by 8.3 percent compared to January.

The year-on-year decline in casino sales was due to a 14.2-percent decrease in table game sales during the month of February, to nearly KRW27.13 billion. Machine game sales recorded a more modest decline of 3.1 percent year-on-year, to approximately KRW4.70 billion, the firm said in a filing to the Korea Exchange.

GKL’s February results contrast with the latest sales reported by market rival Paradise Co Ltd. The latter company said on Tuesday that its casino revenue rose by 28.5 percent year-on-year in February, to nearly KRW55.83 billion.

GKL is a subsidiary of the Korea Tourism Organization, which in turn is affiliated to South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The casino operating entity runs three foreigner-only casinos in South Korea under the Seven Luck brand: two in the capital Seoul and one in the southern port city of Busan.

The company said casino sales for the first two months of 2019 fell by 18.8 percent year-on-year, to approximately KRW66.54 billion.

Table game sales for the period were down 20.9 percent to about KRW57.07 billion, while machine game sales declined 3.7 percent, to nearly KRW9.47 billion.

GKL said last month that its fourth-quarter net income halved to approximately KRW6.85 billion. The firm stated net income for full-year 2018 declined by 3.5 percent to KRW77.74 billion.

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