Net income at Belle Corp rose 9.6 percent in the first quarter, to nearly PHP857.5 million (US$16.4 million) from nearly PHP782. 5 million in the prior-year period, the firm said in a filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday.
The company is entitled – via its 78.7 percent-owned subsidiary, Premium Leisure Corp – to a share of “gaming revenues or earnings” at City of Dreams Manila (pictured), a Manila casino resort operated by Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd, Belle Corp noted in its announcement. .
Group wide, the contribution of its gaming revenue share fell by 8 percent year-on-year in the three months to March 31, to just over PHP664.3 million, compared to nearly PHP721.9 million in the prior-year quarter.
But Belle Corp stated that its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) from its income share in the gaming operations of City of Dreams Manila increased by 8 percent year-on-year to PHP474 million for the first quarter, from PHP439 million for the same period in 2017.
Belle Corp also said it increased by 27 percent-year-on-year to PHP571 million its first-quarter operating income from its real estate businesses, compared to PHP451 million for the 2017 period.
It said a “significant portion” of its real estate-related EBITDA – i.e., PHP502 million – was derived from Belle Corp’s lease of the land and buildings comprising City of Dreams Manila, to a unit of Melco Resorts. The balance of Belle Corp’s real estate earnings came from property sales and property management activities in other parts of the country.
Belle Corp confirmed on March 23 a regular cash dividend for 2017 of PHP0.12 per share for holders of its common stock, representing a total payout of PHP1.27 billion. The firm said that was a 26-percent improvement from the 2016 regular dividend of PHP0.095 confirmed in March last year.
