Grand Korea Leisure (GKL), South Korea’s operator of foreigner-only casinos, reported a 49.5 percent year-on-year decline in its third-quarter 2024 net income, which fell to KRW6.04 billion ($4.3 million).
The company disclosed this information in its unaudited quarterly financial results, filed with the Korea Exchange on Monday.
On a sequential basis, GKL’s net income for the quarter ending in September was down 46.6 percent compared to the second quarter, when it had reached KRW11.33 billion ($8.1 million).
In terms of overall sales, the company posted KRW93.77 billion ($67 million) in the third quarter, reflecting a 5.1 percent decrease from the previous quarter and a 2.9 percent decline compared to the same period in 2023.
For the first nine months of 2024, Grand Korea Leisure reported cumulative sales of KRW290.54 billion ($208 million), marking a 5.0 percent decline from the same period in 2023, according to the filing.
The operator also reported a 6.1 percent year-on-year decline in casino net sales for the first nine months of the year, which totaled KRW287.3 billion ($206 million). This decline occurred despite an increase in casino drop—the amount customers paid for gaming chips—and a rise in visitors compared to the previous year, according to the company’s supplementary data.
From January to September, the company’s casino drop reached nearly KRW2.77 trillion ($1.98 billion), marking a 13.5 percent year-on-year increase.
Marketing activity expenses, one of Grand Korea Leisure’s main cost items, amounted to KRW47.6 billion ($34 million) in the first nine months of 2024, reflecting an 18.1 percent year-on-year increase.
GKL operates three foreigner-only Seven Luck casinos: two in Seoul, including one in the Gangnam district, and one in Busan, located in the southeastern part of the country.
