Casino op Kangwon Land posts US$38.4mln 2Q loss

Aug 11, 2020 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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Kangwon Land Inc reported a KRW45.56-billion (US$38.4-million) loss in the second quarter, compared to a KRW50.94-billion profit in the prior-year quarter. The latest quarterly result was still an improvement from the KRW156.1-billion loss recorded in the first three months of 2020, according to a Tuesday filing.

The firm operates Kangwon Land (pictured), a resort with the only casino in South Korea that is permitted to serve domestic players.

The group did not give commentary on the reasons for the fall in casino sales. But the resort’s casino had closed on February 23 on a temporary basis as a precaution locally against the spread of the Covid-19 infection. Due to repeated extensions to the shutdown period, the casino did not open again until May 8 – and then only with VIP operations.

Gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the three months to June 30 – derived solely from the group’s so-called “Membership Club” segment – stood at KRW28.3 billion, down 91.4 percent from the prior-year period. Such GGR was down 85.9 percent sequentially, according to a separate presentation filed on Tuesday.

Total sales at the resort – a venue located in a remote upland area several hours by car from Seoul – stood at KRW34.63 billion, a decline of 90.5 percent from the KRW364.26 billion achieved in the second quarter of 2019. Such sales were down 85.3 percent from the preceding quarter, said the company.

Accumulated sales for the first half of 2020 fell by 63.5 percent year-on-year, to nearly KRW270.64 billion. The company booked a loss of just above KRW201.67 billion for the period, compared to a profit of KRW153.39 billion in the first six months of 2019.

Kangwon Land Inc is – as the only authorised provider of casino gaming to South Korean nationals – subject to significant oversight from the country’s government.

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