Macau casino junket operator Neptune Group Ltd. reported a net profit of HKD25.9 million (US$3.3 million) for the six months ended December 31, 2016, a turnaround from the net loss of HKD257 million (US$33.11 million) in the prior-year period.

Neptune announced in a regulatory filing on Friday that its reported revenue for its 2016 fiscal first half is up 2.2 percent to HKD135.9 million (US$17.51 million). The rise in revenue was due to a better rolling chip turnover in the VIP rooms that the company’s associates promoted.

For the July to December 31, 2016 period, Neptune’s rolling chip turnover in the VIP rooms posted nearly HKD136 million (US$17.52 million), slightly higher than the HKD133 million (US$17.14 million) it reported a year earlier.

The good numbers in the first fiscal half is the fruit of its “extra efforts” they have taken in 2016 to collect overdue trade receivables, according to Neptune. Thus, the firm’s outstanding debt declined from HKD654 million in 2015 to HKD363 million in 2016.