• The Hong Kong enterprise reported a massive spike in their profits mostly attributable to their Russian Integrated resort, Tigre de Cristal
• Total revenue marks a 24% climb during the first half of 2019
• Russian based Tigre de Cristal to see Phase 2 expansion in early 2022 due to slight delay in development

In comparison to profits generated during the first half of 2018, which stood at HK$2.6 million, this year the Summit Ascent group reported a drastic jump to HK$42.8 million generated only during the first half of 2019.

The Tigre de Cristal

The Russia-based casino and resort, Tigre de Cristal, opened back in October 2015 and is located in Primorye, near the Vladivostok port. The resort offers more than 100 hotel rooms, 800+ slot machines and at least 25 VIP gaming tables, as well as 15 mass-market baccarat tables and 25 other mass-market tables, which provide a variety of games. And it seems like it is becoming the center of attention for many high-roller VIPs, looking for a quick brake.

This comes as no big surprise, bearing in mind that earlier in April the foremost VIP promoter in Asia – the Suncity Group – acquired an approximately 30% stake of the establishment.

The casino and especially slot games have contributed a great deal to this years’ striking results. The total revenue of the group during the first six months of 2019 reported a 24% growth at HK$257.3 million. Tigre de Cristal’s gaming revenue alone has generated HK$236.9 million, mainly from its VIP games section and slot machines.

Slots alone saw a HK$91 million spike in profits, which comes after an increase in handle by 22% at $HK1.6 billion. Mass table games, on the other hand, saw a slight 8% decrease attributed mostly to lower win percentage and the weakness of the Russian ruble, which affect conversion negatively. Lastly, hotel operations also saw an increase of almost 20% as compared to last years’ equivalent period.

Future Development Plans

The establishment is operated directly by Oriental Regent Ltd., and Summit Ascent currently own a 60% stake. This also generates a 3% management fee from the entirety of the net gaming revenue.

Oriental Regent, on their side, generated an adjusted property EBITDA of HK$108.5 million, which – in comparison to the first half of 2018’s earnings – stands for a 62% increase.

Just recently, the Summit Ascent group have reported a slight delay in the implementation of the Phase 2 development, which is pushed back a bit for early 2022. The reasons cited for the delay concern mainly design adjustments, which came to pass following Suncity Group’s commentary on the project.

The expansion is expected to set-off during the first quarter of 2020 and will entice customers with a widened culinary section, including Korean barbecue, a Chinese hot pot, noodle bars and others.