South Korean casino operator Paradise Co. Ltd. extended its financial losing streak in the first quarter of 2018 with net income plunging 61.6 percent.
Latest figures from Paradise showed that its net income for the three months ending March 31 dropped to KRW3.10 billion (US$2.88 million) from KRW5.01 billion ($4.68 million) in the same period last year.
This was the fifth consecutive time that the casino operator’s net income dropped since the first quarter of 2017. But this drop came as a surprise since its casino sales jumped 19.9 percent to KRW149.37 billion ($140.40 million) in Q1.
Paradise reported an operating profit of approximately KRW4.81 billion ($4.49 million) versus an operating loss of KRW7.70 billion in the first three months of 2017.
Table revenue was up 19.3 percent to KRW138.57 billion ($130.25 million), while machine revenue rose 26.8 percent to nearly KRW10.80 billion ($10.15 million). The amount of cash exchanged for chips by customers at the table climbed 20 percent year-on-year to just over KRW1.36 trillion ($1.28 billion).
The results were collated from Paradise’s four foreigners-only casinos: Walkerhill in Seoul; Jeju Grand on Jeju Island; Busan Casino in the southern port city of Busan; and Paradise City in Incheon, near the main international airport serving Seoul.
Aside from the first quarter financial results, Paradise notified the Korea Exchange about its casino sales for the month of April and its business performance for full-year 2018.
April casino sales were down 0.7 percent to KRW38.39 billion ($35.86 million) year-on-year. Table games dipped 0.1 percent to KRW35.67 billion ($33.32 million) while gaming machine sales fell 8 percent to KRW2.72 billion ($2.54 million).
The results bring Paradise’s casino sales for the first four months of 2018 to KRW187.05 billion ($174.74 million), up 14.5 percent from the same period last year.
