Japanese gaming giant Universal Entertainment Corp says it expects to report net income attributable to owners of the parent of JPY21 billion (US$151 million) for the first six months of 2023, up 210% over the same period last year and exceeding its most recent forecasts.
The improvement, which includes a 40.3% increase in net sales to around JPY79 billion (US$569 million), is due to recovery of Japan’s pachislot market and strong performance at its Philippines integrated resort Okada Manila is better than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
As reported by IAG last week, Okada Manila saw its gross gaming revenues climb by 36% year-on-year in 2Q23 to US$208 million.
Universal said Friday that the recovery of both business arms “strongly indicates that the company’s business is rapidly recovering at a pace that exceeds the company’s consolidated business results forecast for the full fiscal year ending 31 December 2023, which was previously announced in March 2023.”
Universal said that, as a result of its strong results, the Board of Directors has resolved to pay a dividend of JPY40 per share, representing total dividend payments of JPY3.1 billion (US$22.3 million).