Lotte Tourism Development Succeeds in Turning Net Profit into a Surplus

*This content was translated by AI.

-Revenue of KRW 653.4 billion increased by 38.6% year-on-year...Casino to drive total earnings of KRW 476.6 billion

- Operating profit surged 267% to KRW 143.3 billion, improving profitability sharply

- Net profit turned into surplus of 27.6 billion won for the first time since Dream Tower opened

- KRW 700 billion in deficits is compensated by all-time dividends and conversion of retained earnings

Lotte Tourism Development succeeded in turning into a net profit surplus based on its record performance last year.

Lotte Tourism Development announced on the 19th that it achieved a net profit surplus of 27.6 billion won for the first time since the opening of Jeju Dream Tower Complex Resort.

Lotte Tourism Development said, "We have not been out of the red for a while due to the large-scale investment of development funds and the aftermath of the pandemic," adding, "However, as Jeju's direct overseas flights expanded, we will be able to generate more profits based on continued sales growth, such as turning into a surplus in operating profit in 2024 and this time turning into a surplus."

Last year's overwhelming sales performance laid the foundation for the turnaround.

Sales rose 38.6 percent to 653.4 billion won last year from the previous record of 471.4 billion won a year earlier. Since the resumption of direct overseas routes, the average sales growth rate over the past three years has reached about 153%, showing a steep sales growth curve.

In addition to record sales, operating profit last year also reached 39 billion won in 2024, up 267% from the previous year to 143.3 billion won in a year after successfully converting operating profit for the first time.

Sales of the casino division (Dream Tower Casino) are explosive. Casino plays a key cash cow role in the Jeju Dream Tower complex resort project as it can realize the best "operating leverage effect" in which sales increase directly leads to profit maximization.

Casino sales jumped 61.8% year-on-year to 476.6 billion won last year. Quarterly, sales continued to increase by nearly 30% in each quarter, recording 142.7 billion won in the fourth quarter following 84.5 billion won in the first quarter, 110 billion won in the second quarter, and 139.3 billion won in the third quarter.

The number of casino users was 593,332 last year, 54.1% from 383,073 last year, and the table drop was KRW 2.46 trillion, up 62.2% from the previous year (1.519.8 trillion won).

The hotel sector (Grand Hyatt Jeju), which is essential for stable casino operations, also saw rapid growth in room usage to 78.5% last year, following 58% in 2023 and 63.7% in 2024.

With the turnaround of the net profit surplus, all indicators began to receive green light.

The earnings per share (EPS), which had been in negative condition, turned into 356 won last year. In addition, EBITDA, a profitability indicator of companies' ability to generate cash earned from operating activities, also jumped about 87 percent from 124 billion won in 2024 to 231.8 billion won in 2025.

With its record-high performance and conversion to a net profit surplus, Lotte Tourism Development will be able to actively improve its financial structure and increase shareholder value.

LT Entertainment, a subsidiary that operates casinos, will pay a total of 110.94 billion won to Lotte Tourism Development at its regular shareholders' meeting on the 25th.

Lotte Tourism Development also decided to compensate for the deficit by converting 590.7 billion won of capital surplus, including stock issuance excess and profit reserve, to surplus at its regular shareholders' meeting on the 27th, which amounted to 680.9 billion won as of the end of the fourth quarter of last year.

With LT Entertainment's all-time dividends and conversion of retained earnings, the deficit, which reached 1.22 trillion won, fell sharply to 525.5 billion won at once.

At the general shareholders' meeting, Lotte Tourism Development decided to establish an interim dividend clause by changing the articles of incorporation. This is an expression of a strong shareholder-friendly management willingness to return profits to shareholders in a timely manner, not just once a year in settlement dividends when profits are generated.

An official from Lotte Tourism said, "We will actively respond to the government's policies to enhance shareholder value, such as the corporate value program, as the ability of the casino and resort businesses to generate stable profits has been proven by the conversion of the net profit surplus."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.