Casinos in South Korea: Kangwon Land announces plan to boost corporate value

The operator aims to increase its dividend payout ratio.

South Korea.- Kangwon Land has announced a Corporate Value-up Plan intended to increase its corporate value. It aims to achieve a shareholder payout ratio of 60 per cent by 2026. To these ends, it intends to increase its dividend payout ratio to at least 50 per cent and introduce a three-year share buy-back programme worth KRW100bn (US$72.9m).

As reported earlier this week, the operator will buy-back up to KRW40bn (US$29.5m) of shares this year. It will follow that with KRW60bn (US$44m) in buy-backs in 2025 and 2026. The casino operator aims to attain a price-to-book (PBR) ratio of 1.2 times by 2026 and achieve 100 per cent compliance with key corporate governance indicators.

In April, Kangwon Land unveiled a KRW2.5tn (US$1.85bn) investment plan dubbed K-HIT Project 1.0. It will triple the size of casino space by 2032. The company aims to enhance the gaming experience for international visitors and align operational standards, including betting restrictions, with global benchmarks.

For the second quarter of the year, the company posted a net profit of KRW149.8bn (US$107.9m), up 59.5 per cent in quarter-on-quarter terms and 64.2 per cent when compared to the second quarter of 2023.

Gaming sales were up 3.8 per cent year-on-year but down 3.4 per cent sequentially at KRW305.4bn (US$220m). Non-gaming sales reached KRW32.3bn (US$23m), down 11.5 per cent year-on-year and down 37.8 per cent when compared to the previous quarter. Operating profit was down 3.1 per cent sequentially and down 10.4 per cent from last year at KRW73.4bn (US$52m).