Up 461% Year-on-Year to 33.1 Billion KRW
First Quarterly Net Profit Since Integrated Resort Opening
Expectations for Turning an Annual Net Profit This Year
On August 5, Lotte Tour Development announced that its consolidated operating profit for the second quarter of this year reached 33.1 billion KRW, marking a 461% increase compared to the same period last year and setting a new quarterly record since the company’s founding. During the same period, revenue rose by 35.8% to 157.7 billion KRW. Net profit for the quarter also turned positive, reaching 5.9 billion KRW. This is the first time Lotte Tour Development has posted a quarterly net profit since the opening of the Jeju Dream Tower Integrated Resort on December 18, 2020.
The company’s improved performance was led by rapid growth across its three main sectors: the casino, hotel, and travel businesses. Net revenue for Dream Tower Casino in the second quarter (total revenue minus agent commissions and other expenses) was 110.038 billion KRW, up 65.4% year-on-year and 30.2% quarter-on-quarter, surpassing the 100 billion KRW mark in quarterly sales for the first time.
The number of casino visitors reached 148,475, an increase of more than 35% compared to the previous quarter (109,631). The drop amount (the total amount exchanged for chips by customers for gaming) also hit an all-time high of 668.5 billion KRW, a 38.7% increase from the previous quarter’s 482 billion KRW.
In the hotel sector (Grand Hyatt Jeju), second-quarter revenue was 41.088 billion KRW, up 29.5% from the same period last year. During this time, the average occupancy rate (OCC) was maintained at a near-full level of 87.6%. The number of rooms sold was 127,580, a 15.2% increase compared to the third quarter of last year’s peak season (110,769 rooms). The proportion of foreign guests was 66.4%. In addition, the traditional travel business recorded second-quarter revenue of 24.242 billion KRW, representing 10% growth over the previous quarter.
A Lotte Tour Development official stated, “The securities industry initially expected a turnaround to net profit to be possible from next year, but the explosive sales growth in the second quarter has brought this forward significantly. Since third and fourth quarter results have typically outperformed the second quarter, there is a very high possibility that this year will become the first full year of net profit depending on performance in the second half.”
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