Main Casino Performance on the Rise
Last Month's Revenue and Visitor Numbers Significantly Increased YoY
Plan to Transfer Listing to KOSPI... Aiming for Corporate Value Reevaluation
Business Diversification Plans Including Flagship Hotel Construction
Paradise, the leading foreigner casino operator in Korea, remains unshaken despite the emergence of its competitor, Mohegan Inspire Entertainment Resort (Inspire), which has established itself side by side on Yeongjong Island, Incheon. Sales are on the rise as the number of VIP customers, known as 'big spenders' in the core casino sector, increases. This year, the company plans to accelerate its restructuring efforts by pursuing a transfer listing from KOSDAQ to the KOSPI to enhance corporate value and focusing its hotel business capabilities in downtown Seoul.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 8th, Paradise's consolidated casino sales last month amounted to 81.3 billion KRW, an 83.1% increase compared to the same period last year. The effect of Chinese VIP visitors during the Lunar New Year (Chunje) was significant. Among the 13,195 VIP customers who visited the four casino venues operated by Paradise and its subsidiary Paradise Segasami (Walkerhill, Busan, Jeju Grand, Paradise City) last month, 3,035 were Chinese VIPs, marking a 447.7% increase year-on-year. The total monthly drop amount (the amount casino customers exchanged for chips) was 565.4 billion KRW, up 56% from the same period last year.
Paradise's casino performance in February this year is meaningful as it can gauge future trends. This is because there was a prevailing expectation that the opening of a new foreigner casino by Inspire on the 3rd of last month would affect the number of visitors and drop amount at the adjacent Paradise City casino. In fact, Paradise City's drop amount last month was 275.2 billion KRW, slightly down from the previous month (293.6 billion KRW). However, it rose 54.7% compared to the same period last year (177.9 billion KRW), indicating that the impact was not significant. The number of VIP customers also increased by 85.3% year-on-year to 6,886.
Paradise is rapidly recovering its overall business performance, including casinos and integrated resorts, overcoming COVID-19. Last year's operating profit was 145.8 billion KRW, a 1,299.9% increase from the previous year (10.4 billion KRW), and sales also rose 69.2% to 994.2 billion KRW, marking a record high. Sales increased by 2% and operating profit by 181% compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak. On the 19th of last month, Korea Ratings upgraded the company's credit rating to A (stable).
Building on the upward trend nearing annual sales of 1 trillion KRW, the company plans to pursue a transfer listing from KOSDAQ to KOSPI through the regular shareholders' meeting scheduled for the 22nd. The company explained that this move aims to enter the same group as existing competitors listed on the KOSPI, such as Kangwon Land, Grand Korea Leisure (GKL), and Lotte Tour Development, to induce a revaluation of corporate value and increase interest from long-term institutional and foreign investors.
Through this, the company intends to establish a stable financial structure and diversify its business. A flagship hotel construction project in the old headquarters area of Jangchung-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, and its vicinity is a representative example. By last year, approximately 22.9 billion KRW was spent to secure land measuring 13,949.50㎡ (about 4,200 pyeong), and detailed design plans have been finalized, with construction expected to begin as early as this year. The target completion year is 2027, with an additional investment of over 500 billion KRW anticipated. Once completed, the flagship hotel is likely to reorganize Paradise's core business, which has been focused on integrated resorts.
A Paradise official stated, "Since we are in the stage of establishing detailed plans for the new hotel construction, it is difficult to predict the exact timing of groundbreaking or the scale of investment," but added, "Given our ample experience operating integrated resorts, we expect to apply this know-how to the flagship hotel as well."
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