Paradise Co 4Q loss increases, full-year deficit narrows

Feb 20, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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Paradise Co Ltd, an operator of foreigner-only casinos in South Korea, reported a higher fourth-quarter loss compared to the deficit in the equivalent quarter in 2017.

The loss for the three months to December 31 was just over KRW17.07 billion (nearly US$15.2 million), compared to KRW11.80 billion in the year-earlier period.

The group did not give detailed commentary on the reasons for its persisting quarterly loss judged year-on-year.

It noted however that at Paradise Sega Sammy Co Ltd – an entity which runs the Paradise City casino resort (pictured) near Seoul’s main air hub, Incheon International Airport – the quarterly net loss had widened greatly, to KRW42.46 billion, compared to KRW3.1 billion in fourth-quarter 2017.

Paradise Sega Sammy is a partnership between Paradise Co and Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. Paradise Co has an equity-accounted interest in the partnership.

Paradise Co said “operation costs” had come into play since Paradise City’s phase-one second stage had opened on September 21 last year. In November it was announced that a theme park would open at Paradise City in the first half this year.

The firm noted in its latest set of results that Paradise City – which launched in April 2017 – had set a new record quarterly high for casino drop – i.e., the amount wagered by players before deduction of prizes – in the fourth quarter 2018. Such quarterly casino sales at Paradise City were KRW71.80 billion, an increase of 16.6 percent on the nearly KRW61.60-billion casino drop recorded in the fourth quarter 2017.

On a separated basis, the Paradise Co casino venues Walkerhill in Seoul and Jeju Grand on Jeju island, recorded fourth-quarter casino sales of KRW104.20 billion, up 10.1 percent year-on-year.

The Paradise Hotel Busan in the port city of the same name recorded KRW21 billion in general sales for the period, an increase of 2.0 percent year-on-year, and – according to another chart – casino sales of KRW20.0 billion. Walkerhill’s casino sales were circa KRW80.7 billion, while those for Jeju Grand in the final quarter of 2018 were circa KRW7.4 billion.

Judged on a yearly basis, Paradise Co’s 2018 net loss narrowed to KRW10.97 billion, from KRW18.95 billion in full-year 2017.

In terms of Paradise Co’s fourth-quarter “soft drop” – the amount of cash exchanged for chips by customers at gaming tables – the aggregate was just under KRW1.61 trillion.

Chinese VIP players accounted for KRW541 billion of the quarterly soft drop; Japanese high rollers KRW475 billion; and VIPs from other markets KRW314 billion. Mass-market players contributed KRW277 billion.

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