Disappointing first-quarter financials for Grand Korea Leisure Company Limited

In South Korea and local casino operator Grand Korea Leisure Company Limited has reportedly released its first-quarter financial results showing that its loss for the three-month period had increased by over 354% year-on-year to slightly beyond $33.4 million.

According to a report from GGRAsia, the Seoul-headquartered firm recorded a net profit of about $13.1 million for the initial three months of 2020 but subsequent temporary closures associated with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic saw it finish the year with a fourth-quarter deficit in the region of $29.2 million. The source detailed that Grand Korea Leisure Company Limited is a subsidiary of the Korea Tourism Organization, which is itself affiliated to the Asian nation’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and is responsible for a trio of foreigner-only casinos located inside the Millennium Hilton Seoul, Intercontinental Seoul Coex and Lotte Hotel Busan properties.

Damaging directives:

Grand Korea Leisure Company Limited reportedly suffered earlier this year as its Seven Luck-branded venue in the southern city of Busan was shuttered owing to coronavirus-related concerns for a twelve-week period from November 24 while its pair of sister enterprises in Seoul only re-opened from March 15. As such and the company purportedly experienced a decline of 95.3% year-on-year and 64.7% quarter-on-quarter in net first-quarter sales to roughly $4.7 million.

Recent revival:

However, Grand Korea Leisure Company Limited reportedly used an official filing last week to express optimism regarding the future and explain that its net casino sales for April had risen by 48.4% year-on-year to almost $7.9 million. This purportedly followed a February in which its gambling operation inside the 650-room Lotte Hotel Busan booked revenues of just $448,000 before company-wide receipts recorded a swell of 1,074% month-on-month in March to top $5.3 million.

Larger lethargy:

GGRAsia used a Thursday report to divulge that the casino industry in South Korea saw its aggregated gaming revenues for 2020 tumble by 64.5% year-on-year to around $926.5 million owing to the upheaval of the coronavirus pandemic. The fall in the nation of nearly 52 million people purportedly coincided with a 71.3% drop in visitations to 1,760,232 and an associated 85.6% decline in the number of foreign tourists entering the country to 2,519,118.

Compatriot crashes:

Paradise Company Limited, which is responsible for the giant Paradise City integrated casino resort near the port city of Incheon as well as smaller hotel-based operations in Seoul, Busan and Jeju, reportedly chalked up a decline of 57.3% year-on-year in net 2020 sales to $299.5 million. Similarly, Kangwon Land Incorporated, which runs the only property in the nation where locals are allowed to gamble alongside foreigners, Kangwon Land Casino, purportedly experienced an even steeper 70% diminution to $395.8 million.