After a significant fall in revenues last year, net profits at NagaCorp, Cambodia’s largest entertainment gaming company, increased by 83.5 percent to approximately $21.1 million in the first two quarters of this year.
In its announcement to the Hong Kong stock exchange late Wednesday, NagaCorp, the owner of the NagaWorld entertainment complex in Phnom Penh, said that a rebound in tourist arrivals during the first half of the year coupled with a 2008 government directive banning the use of slot machines outside of hotels and licensed casinos had helped profits bounce back.
Net profit at NagaCorp decreased by 36.3 percent to $25.5 million in 2009.
According to the company’s announcement, revenues from gaming machines increased by 42.9 percent to $24.3 million between January and June, with a further 321 slot machines having been installed since June 2009.
Revenues from the company’s 59 public floor tables also experienced a whopping 84.3 percent increase in revenues to $18.8 million.
However, earnings from organized trips of VIP gamblers – known as junkets – continued last year’s trend, falling by 40.76 percent to $20.2 million.
“We are convinced that as long as the country’s tourist numbers continue to increase, the number of visitors to NagaWorld will increase proportionately,” the company said in its announcement to the stock exchange.
Ho Vandy, co-chair of the government private sector Tourism Working Group, said that NagaWorld stood a good chance of further strengthening its profits in the second half of the year as the high season for visitors to the country takes hold in around October time.
“Business will progress from last year,” he said, adding that more efforts to up marketing campaigns in the region could help the company capitalize on its monopoly over the gambling industry.
Created in 1995, NagaCorp manages the only casino complex in Phnom Penh and has a license to carry out activities in the capital until 2065.
Its share price closed at HK$1.17 in Hong Kong yesterday, a rise of HK$0.20 compared to the previous day’s close and up 14.71 percent year-on-year.
