Kangwon Land could see earnings improve in 2022, analysts say
Tourism arrivals, a higher vaccination rate and the end of social restrictions soon could help Kangwon Land grow next year.
South Korea.- Despite a weak performance during the first quarter of 2021, Kangwon Land expects to see a better performance for the rest of the year.
According to Shinhan Investment Corp, the South Korean casino could see a gradual recovery during 2021 and 2022 as social distancing rules are eased following a rise in the vaccination rate in South Korea.
Kangwon Land has been seeing nearly 2,000 daily average visitors but the number could grow to 8,000 visitors if the Covid-19 vaccine rate increases.
Shinhan Investment Corp said Kangwon Land had been allowed to increase betting limits on 20 gaming tables, a measure that should provide the casino operator with additional growth in sales from the second quarter of the year.
According to Business Korea, analysts think the gaming revenue cap could rise by 5 per cent and 7 per cent between 2020 and 2022.
Kangwon Land reports losses for the first quarter
Kangwon Land reported a net loss of KRW40.9bn (US$36.6m) for the first quarter of the year.
Sales were down 25.8 per cent from the last quarter of 2020, mainly due to a Covid-19 lockdown during the first part of the year.
Kangwon Land’s gaming sales reached KRW85.4bn, which represents a decline of 57.3 per cent from KRW200bn in the same period last year, while GGR from mass tables was KRW38bn, down 62.7 per cent year-on-year.
As for slot machine GGR, Kangwon Land has reported KRW32.6bn in revenue for the first quarter, down 62.7 per cent from the same period in 2020.
During 2020, visits to South Korean casinos declined by 71.3 per cent year-on-year to 1,760,232 in 2020.
South Korea’s 16 foreigner-only casinos have been deeply affected by the lack of tourists, recording a 58.8 decline in casino turnover from KRW1.45tn to KRW597.8bn in 2020.
Only 17,502,756 tourists visited South Korea in 2020 due to ongoing Covid-19 countermeasures, an 85.6 per cent decline when compared to 2019, when 2,519,118 tourists arrived in the country.
