NagaWorld, an integrated resort in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, posted a 15 percent spike in gross gaming revenue rising year-on-year to US$368.9 million on strong growth in VIP.
According to Inside Asian Gaming, Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp said the property saw a 25 percent increase in gross VIP revenues through March 2020, to US$270.2 million on turnover of US$9.69 billion, up 18 percent over 2019. Mass-market GGR was slightly down to US$68 million on table drop of US$342.4 million.
NagaCorp said it has operated “without interruption of business despite the Covid-19 outbreak.
“As per the latest report from the Cambodian Ministry of Health, there are 109 diagnosed cases in Cambodia as at 31 March 2020, most of which were imported and diagnosed in the last two weeks of March 2020,” the company said.
NagaCorp’s results are likely to take a downturn. Cambodian Prime Minister ordered the closure of all casinos in the country starting April 1. But the company said it remains confident about its prospects for the year.
“Before 30 March 2020, Cambodia was the only country where its border was relatively porous to Chinese’s visitation without much restrictions,” it said. “NagaWorld was the only casino in the Asia Pacific region where there was relative ease of entry to the casino without much administrative difficulty and yet having all the protective measures against Covid-19 in place both at the level of Cambodia and at the level of the company.
“No doubt the recent Covid-19 outbreak has caused economic and social chaos globally, but the company remains hopeful that near-term business volume growth is not substantially affected in the event that the Covid-19 outbreak in Cambodia is unduly prolonged.
“On the other hand, if the Cambodian government is able to contain the spread of Covid-19, the company is expected to continue its trajectory of growth in the short term, especially now the Covid-19 spread is quite well contained in China.
“Nonetheless,” the company concluded, it expects its long-term prospects and outlook to be “stable.”
