Despite experiencing a slump in its slot machine sales, gaming revenues of South Korean casino operator Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) grew by 4.1 percent in the first half of 2018.
In a disclosure to the Korea Stock Exchange on Monday, GKL announced that casino sales reached KRW238.62 billion (US$214.2 million) in the first six months of the year, higher than the KRW229.42 billion ($205.2 million) it posted during the same period in 2017.
Table games remain robust in GKL casinos, growing by as much as 7.4 percent to KRW209.75 billion ($187.71 million). However, GKL’s earnings from slot machines fell by 14.9 percent to KRW28.86 billion ($25.83 million).
South Korea’s second-largest foreigners-only casino operator did not give a detailed explanation on the casino sales results for the first half of its financial year, particularly on why slots revenue was lower.
On a month-to-month comparison, GKL’s casino sales dropped 9.9 percent to KRW36.56 billion ($32.72 million) in June 2018 from KRW40.59 billion ($37.9 million) in May 2018. The casino operator attributed the decline to its slot machine sales, which plunged by 20.7 percent from May to KRW4.5 billion ($4.03 million).
June’s table game revenue was KRW32.05 billion ($28.68 million), up 12.7 percent from the prior-year period.
GKL, which runs three foreigner-only casinos in South Korea under the Seven Luck brand, is the second Korean casino operator to report positive sales during the first half of 2018.
Last week, Paradise Co. Ltd. announced that its H1 casino revenue reached KRW296.31 billion (US$264.67 million), significantly higher than the KRW241.7 billion ($210.3 million) posted in the prior-year period.
Like GKL, Paradise didn’t explain why its casinos have done so well in H1 2018. It was also unclear whether the positive result would translate to improved net profits.
