South Korean casino operator, Paradise Co. Ltd, reported a considerable 228 percent quarterly rise in operating profits in the first quarter of 2024, mainly due to the steady increase in play by Japanese and mass market players.
According to its latest financial report, Paradise registered KRW48.4 billion ($35.2 million) in operating profits, a figure that represents a 228 percent increase from the KRW19 billion ($13.8 million) reported in the previous quarter.
At the same time, it evidenced a 154 percent rise from the same quarter of the previous year.
The foreigner-only casino operator in South Korea also saw its net profit attributable to shareholders leave the red in the first three months of the year, with some KRW36.9 billion ($26.8 million) on the books.
Paradise Co. specializes in operating foreigner-only casinos, including Walker-Hill, Jeju, Incheon Paradise City, and Busan Casino.
The group’s total sales witnessed a slight 9.5 percent quarter-to-quarter rise, reaching KRW264.7 billion ($192.9 million). Revenue from casino sales amounted to approximately KRW102.2 billion ($74.4 million), a 9 percent sequential increase.
The operator noted that it had the highest ever quarterly soft drop – the amount of cash exchanged for chips by customers at the table – almost KRW1.7 trillion ($1.2 billion), of which KRW717 billion ($522.6 million) was reported by Japanese punters and KRW301 billion ($219.4 million) by Chinese gamblers.
Paradise Co disclosed a full-year EBITDA of KRW68.1 billion ($49.6 million), marking a 96.3 percent rise from the preceding quarter.
