Casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp said in a Wednesday announcement it was establishing an “annual dividend policy”. The decision was made on Tuesday, following a board meeting.
When the policy will be put into action is yet to be decided, according to a Wednesday statement to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Bloomberry is the operator of the Solaire Resort & Casino complex in Manila’s Entertainment City and another gaming resort in Quezon City, northeast of the Philippine capital.
The firm said it “aims to make annual distributions of cash dividends of 35 percent of its prior year’s audited consolidated earnings per share”.
In March, Bloomberry reported annual net income of just above PHP9.52 billion (US$167.0 million currently) for full-year 2023.
The freshly announced annual dividend policy is subject to certain conditions. They include: the dividends should be from unrestricted retained earnings; the amount and timing of such dividends would be at the board’s discretion, based on recommendation by management; and provided such payments were contractually permitted under the terms of any existing or future debt facilities obtained by the group.
The Wednesday statement added, referring to the May launch of the Quezon City property: “As the business of the company has grown with the opening of Solaire Resort North, Bloomberry’s board of directors approved this [dividend] policy to further enhance shareholder value”.
The announcement noted: “The company anticipates that Solaire Resort North will augment cash flows generated by the group as it ramps up in the coming quarters.”
“The first dividend under this policy will be declared once management and the board of directors are satisfied with the company’s overall performance and cash flows,” subject to the conditions mentioned, added the firm.
