South Korea’s Kangwon Land Inc, operator of a resort (pictured) with the country’s only casino that allows betting by locals, reported a 46.8-percent year-on-year decline in its first-quarter net profit, to KRW39.67 billion (US$26.83 million). That was as a rise in group-wide costs and operating expenses outpaced growth in sales.
That is according to the company’s first-quarter unaudited financial results lodged with the Korea Exchange on Thursday, and supplementary material on the firm’s website.
Kangwon Land Inc’s first-quarter gaming and non-gaming sales combined, grew 3.4 percent year-on-year to KRW378.92 billion.
Out of that sales figure, about 87.2 percent – or KRW330.4 billion – was generated from gaming business, which grew 4.3 percent year-on-year, according to the firm’s supplementary data.
The number of casino visitors to the Kangwon Land property in the first quarter edged up by only 0.8 percent year-on-year, to 625,916. The site is in a remote upland area of Gangwon Province, approximately 150 kilometres (93.2 miles) east of the South Korean capital, Seoul.
The business’s first-quarter costs and operating expenses – covering wages, contributions to a local abandoned mine fund and a tourism fund; as well as depreciation expenses – reached KRW310.0 billion, up 6.2 percent year-on-year.
Kangwon Land Inc has budgeted KRW145.4-billion in 2026 capital expenditure. Of that, KRW126.4 billion is classifed “operating investment” for projects including its casino VIP floor revamp, second-casino construction, and refurbishment of some hotel guest rooms, according to its supplementary material.
The casino operator recently announced that it would begin within the current quarter, a two-year, KRW200-billion programme of hotel- and condominium-room renovation involving 757 units at the complex. Those upgrades are due to be completed in time for the inauguration of the second casino venue at Kangwon Land in first-half 2028.
