South Korea’s second largest foreigners-only casino operator Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) saw its net income drop by 34.7 percent in the first quarter of the year as fewer high rollers flew to the country to gamble.
In a filing to the Korea Exchange, GKL said its net income in the first three months of 2017 plunged to KRW17.53 billion (US$15.6 million) from KRW 27 billion (US$23 million) of the same period last year.
Revenue for the January to March 2017 period was also down 8.3 percent to KRW125.28 billion (US$111.13 million) while operating income for the three months to March 31 stood at KRW31.49 billion (US$ 27.93 million).
“In its first quarter 2017 results… GKL reported weak visitor traffic from Japan and China, lower hold ratio, and offsetting rise in VIP gamers from Japan and China,” Daiwa Securities Group, Inc. analyst Thomas Kwon said in a note.