Hong Kong-listed Summit Ascent Holdings says it has returned to positive EBITDA at its Russian casino resort Tigre de Cristal, located in the Primorye Gambling Zone near Vladivistok, in August and September 2020 – driven by a rapid rebound in the slots and mass table segments.
Releasing a preliminary snapshot of its 3Q20 results overnight, Summit Ascent said that locals had ensured a rapid recovery following the reopening of casino operations in mid-July with slot volume already outperforming 1Q20 levels and table games back to 96% in terms of turnover.
Based on average monthly turnover, slots reached HK$268 million (US$34.6 million) versus HK$261 million (US$33.7 million) in the first quarter, while mass gaming table turnover was only slightly down from HK$45 million (US$5.8 million) to HK$43 million (US$5.5 million).
Slot win was flat at HK$13.0 million (US$1.7 million) while tables reached 81% of 1Q20 levels with win of HK$8.8 million (US$1.1 million), despite being closed for the first two weeks of the third quarter.
“TheGroup has recorded relatively good recovery in the mass table and slot businesses, primarily driven by local Russians, given that flights and visa application have not resumed yet,” Summit Ascent said in a filing.
“Based on preliminary unaudited operational financial figures, Tigre de Cristal has already turned EBITDA positive in both August and September 2020 because of the resilience of the mass table and slot businesses.
“This is the greatest indication that the Group is not solely reliant on foreign visitors. The local Russian market could already help Tigre de Cristal to stay afloat in a time when the travel ban is still in place.”
Summit Ascent is majority owned by Suncity group, which earlier this month increased its stake from 24.74% to 69.66% as part of a rights issue and at a cost of just under US$160 million.
