South Korea: New Silkroad reports losses for H1

The casino company, which operates a resort on Jeju Island, has revealed financial results for the first half.

South Korea.- The casino company New Silkroad Culturaltainment has revealed a loss of HKD43.5 million (US$5.6 million) for H1.

That’s significantly worse than the HKD9.7 million (US$1.2 million) loss seen in the same period last year.

The company, which operates the MegaLuck casino on Jeju Island, attributes the loss to the drop in tourism and the temporary closure of its venue due to Covid-19 measures.

Revenue for the six months to June 30 fell 56.7 per cent to HKD49.6 million (US$6.3 million), down from HKD114.6 million (US$14.7 million) in the first half of 2019.

The group’s loss from operating activities grew to HKD46.1 million (US$5.9 million), from HKD8.8 million (US$1.1 million) last year.

The group told the Hong Kong Stock Exchange: “Our entertainment business was substantially impacted by the novel coronavirus disease, which resulted in a significant drop in revenue.

“The imposition of local travel and entry restrictions by the South Korean government caused a sharp reduction of number of tourists to Jeju.”

The company added: “Entertainment revenue plunged by 99.4 per cent, to approximately HKD400,000.”

The reopening of the venue has yet to be announced.