South Korean casino op GKL 3Q net income down 21 pct

Nov 12, 2018 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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South Korean gaming operator Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd (GKL) reported on Friday net income of nearly KRW26.37 billion (US$23.3 million) for the third quarter of 2018, down 21.0 percent from the prior-year period. The firm did not provide any reason for the decrease in its quarterly results.

Revenue for the three months to September 30 declined by 5.9 percent year-on-year, to just over KRW130.43 billion, the firm said in a filing to the Korea Exchange.

Operating income for the reporting period stood at approximately KRW30.89 billion, a decline of 24.1 percent compared to KRW34.69 billion a year earlier, stated the company.

GKL is a subsidiary of the Korea Tourism Organization, which is an affiliated body of South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The company operates 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.

A number of investment analysts have previously noted that South Korea’s foreigner-only casino market has been adversely affected since 2017 after a fall-off in Chinese tourism after a row between China and South Korea over a United States-supplied missile system.

In the first nine months of 2018, GKL recorded revenue of nearly KRW368.50 billion, down 1.4 percent year-on-year. Net income for the period grew by 6.9 year-on-year, to KRW70.90 billion, the company said in Friday’s filing.

Also on Friday, GKL reported its casino sales for October. The company said last month’s casino revenue stood at nearly KRW36.10 billion, down 10.7 percent from a year earlier.

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