Japanese pachinko hall operator Okura Holdings fell to a JPY 333 million (US$2.9 million) loss in the six months to 31 December 2021, down from a JPY 23 million (US$199,000) profit in the same period last year, despite the reopening of its halls.
While Okura reported a “partial recovery of customer traffic at some of its pachinko halls”, group-wide revenue remained stable year-on-year at JPY 2.74 billion (US$23.7 million) of which JPY 2.47 billion (US$21.4 million) was from its pachinko and pachislot business.
The JPY 333 million loss attributable to shareholders was, the company said, due to the recognition of impairment losses on the group’s property, plant and equipment, and losses on the fair values of the group’s financial assets due to market price fluctuations. These losses were partially offset by gains on the release of lease liabilities after Okura shut down and terminated the leases of three of its halls – Big Apple Dazaifu hall in Fukuoka, Big Apple Sumiyoshi hall in Nagasaki and Monaco Sumiyoshi Honten hall in Nagasaki – in August 2021 due to poor performance.
Assessing its prospects for the year ahead, Okura said, “Although 2020 and 2021 have been challenging years for Japan’s pachinko industry overall, the Group’s operational and financial performance … has managed to recover slightly as a result of the management’s efforts in prioritising the Group’s resources in the recovery of customer traffic, ensuring continuous compliance with the Japanese government’s measures to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19, and voluntarily implementing safety measures to ensure the health and safety of customers at its pachinko halls.
“The management will continue to adopt the above measures in order to encourage customer traffic and speed up the recovery of the Group’s operations, while exploring new opportunities to diversify into other business segments to expand the Group’s sources of revenue.”
Okura last year purchased a residential and commercial building in Nagasaki as part of the company’s efforts to diversify its income streams due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business.
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