Australian-listed casino operator Silver Heritage Group says its fourth quarter sales were the best in the company’s young history, thanks in part to its new Nepal gaming venue.
On Wednesday, Silver Heritage provided a preview of its Q4 and FY17 earnings, while happily reporting that its unaudited sales in the three months ending December 31 totaled $5.44m, the strongest result since the company went public in August 2016.
The Q4 sales total indicates a steady progression from Q3 ($4.76m), Q2 ($4.1m) and Q1 ($4m), making a FY17 total of $18.26m (up from $16.9m in FY16). The preliminary audited Q4 and FY17 results will be released prior to February 28, while the company’s annual report will follow by March 31.
Silver Heritage is a joint venture partner in the Phoenix International Club casino in Vietnam, and also operates the Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa (pictured) in Nepal, which last year joined Silver Heritage’s original Nepalese gaming venue, the Millionaire’s Club Casino in Kathmandu.
After several construction delays, Tiger Palace’s hotel opened its doors to guests last September, but gaming operations didn’t commence until December 28 (and VIP gaming won’t commence until Q4 2018). The company now says Tiger Palace will hold its official ‘Grand Opening celebration event’ on March 16.
Tiger Palace is situated close to Nepal’s border with the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh – India’s most populous state – from which the casino is expected to draw the majority of its clientele. Silver Heritage has previously suggested that it was keen on opening a third Nepalese venue near the border with the Indian states of Bihar and Sikkim, not far from Bangladesh.
Tiger Palace held its first major event of 2018 last week to celebrate the India Republic Day holiday, and the company said the venue welcomed 660 guests – 50% more than attended the venue’s New Year’s Eve shindig – and 120 of these guests stayed overnight at the property’s hotel. Both figures were “ahead of management’s expectations.”
Silver Heritage has yet to announce a permanent replacement for CEO Tim Shepherd, who abruptly tendered his resignation in August for still unexplained reasons.
