Paradise shares fell in early trading on the 3rd. Analysts in the securities industry said first-quarter results this year are expected to be weak, which appeared to dampen investor sentiment.
As of 9:57 a.m., Paradise was trading on the Korea Exchange at 15,250 won, down 1,240 won (7.52%) from the previous session.
On this day, Lee Gi-hoon, an analyst at Hana Securities, said in a report that Paradise's estimated operating profit for the first quarter of this year will be 43.1 billion won, down 25% from a year earlier, falling short of the consensus (market forecast) of 54.4 billion won.
This is attributed to a decline in the hold rate (the percentage of money the casino wins back from games), which reduced operating profit.
Casino revenue is determined by the hold rate and the drop amount (the money customers exchange for chips to play).
Regarding this, the analyst said, "Through January to February, the company maintained record-high sales momentum, but March's hold rate was 7.5%, the lowest since 2022, when the post-COVID reopening began in earnest."