Hong Kong-listed casino operator NagaCorp has printed big number for the first quarter of 2017, including VIP operations, which saw a 34 percent year-on-year growth in the first three months of the year.
The company’s unaudited highlights published on Monday showed that VIP rolling chip volume reached US$3.73 billion for the three months ending March 31—a jump from the nearly $2.79 billion reported in the prior-year period.
Other segments were also up in the same period, according to the casino operator. Buy-in for mass market table increased 13 percent to reach a little under $169.4 million, from the nearly $149.9 million recorded in the same period last year. Bills-in tally for electronic gaming machines also expanded 10 percent year-on-year, reaching nearly $417.3 million from the previous year period’s $381.1 million.
NagaCorp operates the NagaWorld casino resort, which is located in the Cambodian capital city of Phnom Penh.
Brokerage Union Gaming Securities Asia noted that the “VIP volume of $3.7-billion was up against a +65 percent comparison from first-quarter 2016.” That number had been “the highest NagaCorp had ever achieved in any given quarter,” analyst Grant Govertsen said in a note.
“The departure of Macau’s Jimei junket at the end of January clearly didn’t impact volumes,” Govertsen said.
Hong Kong-listed junket investor Jimei International Entertainment Group Ltd. announced last week that it is ending its partnership with NagaCorp for the promotion of gaming tables at NagaWorld.
Still, the brokerage said it is increasing its full-year VIP volume forecast for the company by 7 percentage points to 20 percent year-on-year, while its full-year forecasts for mass table games and slot machine revenue are at +11 percent year-on-year and +15 percent, respectively.
“Seeing VIP volumes growing nicely at the capacity-constrained NagaWorld casino gives us a higher degree of confidence in Naga2, which should open later this year,” Govertsen said.
