[Click eStock] "Kangwon Land, Earnings Soar with Business Normalization... Expected to Continue Until Next Year"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] IBK Investment & Securities maintained a buy rating and a target price of 31,500 KRW on the 29th for Kangwon Land, stating that its performance is improving due to the normalization of the business environment.

Kangwon Land's consolidated sales for the third quarter of this year reached 397.6 billion KRW, a 62.1% increase compared to the same period last year, and operating profit surged 389.1% to 118.7 billion KRW. Although the drop amount per person (total chip purchase amount) slightly decreased, the number of visitors increased by 33.8% compared to the previous quarter, driving the growth in performance.

The total number of visitors in the third quarter was about 660,000, recovering to approximately 85% of the third quarter of 2019, before COVID-19. Since operating hours were normalized in April, the average daily number of visitors quickly recovered, and the simultaneous occupancy limit was also lifted, which had an impact. The number of domestic and foreign visitors was about 655,000 and 5,000 respectively, with the recovery of domestic visitors being more prominent. The drop amount per person was around 2.5 million KRW, an increase of 300,000 KRW compared to the third quarter of 2019, accelerating the recovery of sales. The hold rate (the ratio of the amount the casino earned from the drop amount) was 22.7%, the same as in the third quarter of 2019, and the total drop amount recorded 1.6715 trillion KRW.

Although the fourth quarter of this year is expected to see a sales gap in non-casino areas due to the seasonal off-season, it is analyzed that the performance improvement trend will continue due to steady recovery in visitor numbers during the ski season and casino sections. Sales are projected to increase by 58.5% to 383.7 billion KRW, and operating profit is expected to turn positive to 72.1 billion KRW.

Researcher Lee Hwan-wook of IBK Investment & Securities explained, "The performance improvement trend is expected to continue next year as business normalization and expanded table operations have become possible," adding, "In addition to the recovery of domestic visitors, foreign demand is expected to become more prominent, and the Non-Casino sector will also accompany the recovery in performance."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.