Ha Long's largest casino has suffered losses for 5 consecutive years.

Royal International - owner of Royal Ha Long Casino, lost nearly 73 billion VND in 2023, raising the accumulated loss to more than 548 billion VND.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, Royal International Joint Stock Company (RIC) had nearly 25 billion VND in revenue, an increase of nearly 21% over the same period. However, compared to the previous quarter, this period's revenue decreased by 19% even though this is the peak tourist season.

Management explained that domestic visitors decreased due to people restricting travel. The company's international visitors are mainly Chinese, but this country still restricts people from traveling abroad, so RIC's number of visitors also decreased sharply, affecting revenue in all business segments.

The company has sought to stabilize existing customers and attract new customers, but this is not enough to cover costs. In total, RIC lost more than VND18.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, an improvement of more than 26% over the same period.

Accumulated for the whole year, Royal International recorded nearly 112 billion VND in revenue and a negative after-tax profit of nearly 73 billion VND. Compared to 2022, revenue decreased slightly but the company lost 20% more. Thus, the company has had 5 consecutive years of operating below cost price, with an accumulated loss of more than 548 billion VND.

In the two main business segments, casinos are recovering well, while hotels and villas are going backwards. In 2023, the gaming club brought in nearly 68 billion VND in revenue, double that of the previous year, and the loss was cut by 3.5 times. While revenue from hotels and villas decreased by nearly half, from profitable operations, this segment caused a profit deficit of nearly 55 billion VND last year.

From 2016 to now, the casino owner in Ha Long only made a profit in 2018. According to the leader, due to the special business category, winning or losing depends entirely on luck. In addition, neighboring countries such as Cambodia, the Philippines, Myanmar... all have additional casinos, causing the source of customers to be dispersed and the market share to be smaller.

Royal International was established in 1994 with a charter capital of 15 million USD, aiming to build and operate a 5-star hotel in Ha Long. Eight years later, the company increased its capital to 22 million USD and was granted a business license for games with prizes for foreigners. The company was listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE) in 2007. In May 2022, RIC shares were forced to delist from HoSE due to three consecutive years of losses and are now transferred to the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX).

Siddhartha

Source link