Hong Kong-listed casino developer Xinhua World Inc. (formerly Landing International Development Inc) reported a loss of 216.9 million Hong Kong dollars ($27.6 million) of its shareholders for all of 2022. That compares with an annual loss of 1.06 billion Hong Kong dollars in 2021, according to data filed on Thursday.
The results were group-wide sales of HK$1.39 billion, up 2.7% year-over-year.
We did not recommend paying the final dividend for 2022.
The company operates a resort called Jeju Shinhwa World (pictured) with a foreigner-only casino in Jeju, Korea. The company was previously linked to a plan to develop a resort complex in the Philippines.
In a recent filing, Xinhua World Inc said it was still negotiating with Pagcor, the country’s gaming regulator, for a “mutually acceptable solution” to casino plans in the Philippines. In 2018, Philippine authorities declared that it was nullifying leases for sites originally allocated for such plans.
“The group has not yet identified other suitable land leases to develop integrated resorts in the Philippines to meet the requirements of the temporary licence,” the casino developer said. It recently said it had been granted an extension by Pagcor to “meet the requirements of the paperwork.”
“When the opportunity arises, the group will evaluate the feasibility of the relevant land lease and development,” it added.
Shinhwa World Inc. also said that it will start developing new residential areas for Jeju Shinhwa World “to be completed in 2024” this year. The new residential development said, “We can make better use of Jeju Shinhwa World’s land use and broaden the group’s income flow.”
The casino company had halted construction of a new hotel in Jeju Shinhwa World in 2021. In a filing on Thursday, it said, “If the group decides to resume construction of a new hotel… The group will re-evaluate internal financial resources and funding needs before making significant future capital commitments,” it said.
For the full year 2022, the integrated resort business generated segment revenue of about HK$946.2 million, up from HK$856.4 million a year earlier.
However, during the reporting period, the group’s gaming business performance was “slow.” Travel restrictions related to COVID-19 restricted travel to Jeju by international visitors for some time in 2022.
Net profit from gaming operations in 2022 was HK$46.1 million, down from HK$88.6 million a year earlier. Segment loss was almost HK$174 million, improving from segment loss of HK$671.8 million in 2021.
The company changed its name to “Xinhua World Inc.” after a board meeting late last year decided to “better reflect the current status of the group’s business development and its future direction of development.”
BY: 홀짜게임