Nagacorp 1H GGR gains 42 percent driven by VIPs

Wednesday 12th of August 2015

Nagacorp said its gross gaming revenue surged 42 percent in the first half, driven by a 50 percent jump in VIP rollings.

The company, which operates the NagaWorld casino in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, posted GGR of $255.4 million in the period, according to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Net profit increased by 49 percent to $101 million.

The company said its VIP rollings were $3.6 billion, helped by additional signings of North Asian junkets under its incentive program.

Mass market table buy-ins increased by 11 percent to $262 million, while mass market electronic gaming machines bills-in increased by 10 percent to $629.3 million.

The company said the opening of its NagaCity Walk with its retail mall has been delayed. It was initially scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2016, but the company is now targeting the third quarter of next year.

The TSCLK Complex remains broadly on schedule for completion by end of 2016, with operations commencing in 2017. It expects its project in Vladivostok, Russia to open in 2018.

Commenting on its prospects, NagaCorp said it was benefiting from the downturn in visitation to Macau and also its efforts to strengthen ties with North Asian junkets.

“The group offers better commercial terms to junket operators and agents as a result of NagaWorld’s low-cost structure,” it said.

The group is collaborating with key Chinese outbound travel agents and an independent airline operator by using its commercial aircraft to bring Chinese tourists into Cambodia.

“The appeal of Cambodia as a travel destination for Chinese tourists is evident from the continued strong growth of Chinese visitation, which recorded a 22 percent increase for the first half of 2015.”

International tourist arrivals to Cambodia continued to grow with 2.3 million visitors in the first half of 2015, a 4.6 percent increase compared to the same period in 2014. The top three countries where visitors originated from were Vietnam (21 percent), China (15 percent) and South Korea (10 percent), accounting for 46 percent of total tourist arrivals to Cambodia and collectively increasing 11 percent year-on-year.

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