Net income up 12.1 percent
Kangwon Land in Kangwon Province, South Korea posted positive numbers for the third quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015.
According to GGRAsia, the only South Korean casino that permits Korean nationals to gamble saw net income of KRW124.3 billion (US$108.4 million) for the third quarter of 2016, up 4.5 percent year-on-year. Sales were up 6 percent year-on-year to KRW438.1 billion in the three months to September 30, the company said in a filing to the Korea Exchange last week.
Operating income increased 2.4 percent year-on-year to KRW161.7 billion, Kangwon Land reported. And the operator also reported accumulated net income of KRW390.8 billion, up by 12.1 percent from the prior-year period.
The numbers were in line with expectations from the Daiwa Securities Group, which said in July that Kangwon Land would show “solid revenue and earnings growth” in the second half. Analyst Thomas Kwon said such growth was likely to be “mainly driven by the growing number of casual gamers for mass-table games and new slot machines, and its disciplined cost strategy.”
Kangwon Land is the only gaming hall among 17 in the country that lets locals play. The operator announced last month that it would strengthen its customer entry rules to help prevent gambling addiction.
Among proposed preventive measures is one that would ban suspected compulsive gamblers from entering the casino for up to 90 days, reported the Korea Times. Kangwon Land CEO Ham Seung-huie indicated the stricter measures could be put in place next year.
