Paradise Co Ltd, one of the leading South Korean casino operators, recently filed a financial report to the Korea Exchange (KRX) to confirm that the casino generated more than KRW44.67 billion (US$34.0 million) in gross gaming revenues in February 2023. The February revenue level recorded by the foreign-only casino therefore represents a 162.7 year-on-year increase but also a sequential decline of 7.2 percent.

Table Revenue Increased by 176.4 Percent

As GGRAsia reports, the company’s financial report filed on 30 November 2023 presented the revenues generated across the casino operations that include table games and gaming machines. According to the filing,  table game section generated almost KRW42.32 billion (US$33.0 million), or more than 97% of the total revenue figure for the month. Although the level reached by the table game operations in February was 176.4 percent above the same month of 2022, it is still 5.1 percent lower in comparison to the preceding month.

Machine-Game Increased by 38.7 Percent

Likewise, gaming machine section of the Paradise Co gaming operations in February reportedly hit nearly KRW2.36 billion (US$1.8 million) to record a 38.7 percent higher year-on-year level. However, the sequential decline of 33.2 percent of the machine-game section follows the trend set by the table game operations to testify about the overall decline of the casino operations in February after the strong beginning of the year.

244% Year-On-Year Handle Increase

The fact that the casino table handle reached KRW362.47 billion (US$280 million) also testifies about the trend of the significantly higher result than in February 2022 but weaker than the preceding month. Therefore GGRAsia reports that the table handle stood for a 244 % increase over the same period in 2022 but also represented a 23.9 % decline when compared to January 2023. The same source reports that these figures refer to the the company’s division dealing with its casinos including Walkerhill in Seoul, Jeju, Busan, and Paradise City, Incheon.

2022 Profit Hits US$20 Million

The February 2023 result of Paradise Co shows that the company fully restored its post-pandemic operations to record revenue levels at the beginning of 2023 more than two times higher than the same month in 2022. As reported, the financial result shows that the company reportedly generated profit of KRW25.49 billion (US$20 million) for full-year 2022 with aggregate sales growing by more than 40 percent over the prior year to hit KRW587.64 billion (US$450 million). When compared to the KRW52.53 billion (US$40 million) loss reportedly sustained in 2021, the post-pandemic recovery argument proves realistic.

2023 Figures Expected to Grow

At the same time, the February 2023 decline in comparison to January 2023 might be generally attributed to the festive season in January and the higher count of foreign arrivals over the Christmas and New Year holidays. Based on the year-on-year trend,  the reports may be expected to reflect the growing trend into the subsequent months of 2023.