Japanese pachinko hall operator Okura Holdings Ltd has issued a positive profit alert, revealing it expects to record a profit before income tax of at least JPY1 billion (US$6.7 million) for the six months to 31 December 2023.
In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday, Okura said that, according to a preliminary review of its unaudited management accounts, the group was on track to significantly improve on the JPY163 million (US$1.09 million profit recorded a year earlier.
The improvement, it explained, was mainly attributable to gains from lease modification of approximately JPY1.03 billion arising from the termination of lease of the properties of one of the group’s pachinko halls and car parking lots in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Okura acquired these properties in November 2023 for the continual operation of the pachinko hall and car parking lots.
Final results for the six months to 31 December 2023 are due before the end of February.
Okura has been actively assessing the viability of each of its pachinko halls and recently announced revealed it would cease the operation of a hall in Nagasaki City due to “deteriorating operating and financial performance” since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The closure saw the number of halls operated by Okura fall to 10, located in the Kyushu, Kanto, Kansai and Chugoku regions of Japan.
