Suntrust Resort Holdings Inc says it is “considering” applying for accreditation linked to online gaming operations in the Philippines.
That is according to a Tuesday filing to the country’s stock exchange. The firm was responding to a bourse enquiry from May 22 asking how Suntrust Resort would address its negative stockholder equity position as disclosed in its quarterly report for the period ended March 31.
The Manila-listed company has had a role in developing the under-construction main hotel casino at the Westside City complex (pictured in an artist’s rendering) in Manila, the Philippine capital. It reiterated in its Tuesday update that opening of commercial operations at the property is “targeted within the third quarter of 2026”.
In September last year it was announced that Suntrust Resort would take on a minority role in the scheme as it mulled an agreement with Travellers International Hotel Group Inc regarding completion of the Manila complex, which has been described as a US$1.25-billion venture.
In mid-September last year, Travellers International said a total investment of up to US$450 million was still required to complete the Westside City casino resort.
Suntrust Resort’s possible application for accreditation as a “gaming system administrator” under the domestic online gaming licensing framework of the country’s relevant regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), was part of a six-point set of options set out to the bourse on Tuesday to address its negative stockholder equity.
In its amended first-quarter unaudited results, published on May 25, Suntrust Resort reported positive net income of just under PHP17.0 million (US$275,400) compared to a net loss of PHP84.3 million in the prior-year quarter. It had a total equity deficit of PHP21.54 billion, roughly unchanged from the prior-year period.
Suntrust Resort told the bourse on Tuesday regarding its stockholder-equity remediation plan: “The company’s relevant project entity is considering applying as a Pagcor-accredited gaming system administrator.”
It added: “The financial impact and definitive timetable of this application is not yet determinable. The company will make the appropriate disclosures to the exchange as developments warrant.”
Stockholder equity plan
Suntrust Resort outlined in an accompanying document filed with the bourse the same day that the negative stockholder equity position was due mainly to factors including “the accumulation of pre-operating, financing, and related costs over the prolonged construction and development phase” of the Westside City complex.
Other factors were: “The classification, for accounting purposes, of the company’s outstanding convertible bonds and advances from related parties as liabilities, pending their conversion or restructuring.”
Suntrust Resort added: “The company expects these conditions to reverse as the [Westside City] project transitions toward completion and commercial operation.”
It added: “The commencement of commercial operations and the corresponding realisation of dividends as a result of operating profits on the company’s indirect interest in the project is expected to contribute materially to the improvement of the company’s financial position over the medium term.”
Other points in its remediation plan, aside from possible online gaming accreditation, included an idea for conversion of outstanding convertible bonds into perpetual convertible bonds.
Also mentioned was an increase in authorised capital stock, and additional equity fundraising, including the introduction of external investors and follow-on or rights offerings.
