South Korean casino operator Paradise Co Ltd on Tuesday reported a net loss of approximately KRW2.06 billion (US$1.68 million) for the three months ended June 30. That compared to a loss of nearly KRW1.71 billion in the second quarter of 2018, the firm said in a filing to the Korea Exchange.
The company had reported a net loss of about KRW7.53 billion for the first three months of 2019. For the first six months of 2019, the firm recorded an accumulated loss of approximately KRW9.59 billion, it said.
The higher loss in year-on-year terms for the second quarter was despite a 29.2-percent increase in sales for the period, to KRW233.88 billion, said Paradise Co.
The company posted an operating profit of nearly KRW4.70 billion for the second quarter of 2019, compared to an operating loss of KRW67.0 million a year earlier.
Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were approximately KRW32.40 billion, 83.8 percent higher from the prior-year period, the company said.
The improvement in its latest quarterly sales was due to higher gaming revenue for the period, both at its wholly-owned properties and its joint venture project, Paradise City.
Paradise Co’s casino figures are based on the results of four venues it operates in its casino business division. They are: Walkerhill in Seoul; Jeju Grand (pictured) on Jeju Island; Busan Casino in the southern port city of Busan; and Paradise City, in Incheon, the latter a venture with the Japanese conglomerate Sega Sammy Holdings Inc.
In a Tuesday presentation, Paradise Co said casino sales at its own three properties rose by 10.9 percent year-on-year, to KRW103.66 billion. The company said casino sales at its Jeju Grand property grew by 136.8 percent, to KRW9.0 billion.
The firm said casino sales at Paradise City hit “a record high” in the three months to June 30. Casino sales at the property reached just above KRW86.35 billion in the second quarter of 2019, up 61.5 percent from a year earlier.
Paradise City reported EBITDA of nearly KRW11.16 billion, up 73.9 percent from a year ago. The property however recorded a higher net loss of KRW13.24 billion, compared with KRW6.20 billion in the prior-year period.
The company said group-wide second-quarter casino drop rose by 33.2 percent year-on-year, to approximately KRW1.85 trillion, backed by “recovering in China VIP” patronage.
Japanese VIP customers accounted for 34.6 percent of total casino table drop in the April to June period, according to Tuesday’s presentation. Chinese VIP patrons to the firm’s casinos came in second place and accounted for 30.5 percent of the total table drop in the period, with their contribution increasing by 66.1 percent in year-on-year terms, to approximately KRW563 billion.
