Fourth-quarter net profit at Philippine casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp nearly doubled year-on-year, while net revenue grew by a more modest 16 percent.
Quarterly net profit was PHP1.4 billion (US$27.7 million), up 87 percent compared to PHP725.1 million in the final quarter of 2018. Quarterly net revenue was PHP10.9 billion.
For full-year 2019, consolidated net profit was PHP9.9 billion compared to PHP7.2 billion for 2018. The group said net profit grew 38 percent year-on-year despite it “incurring foreign exchange losses and higher interest expenses”. The group’s 2019 consolidated net revenue was PHP46.6 billion, representing growth of 22 percent from PHP38.4 billion in 2018.
“The company’s continuous drive toward cost efficiency capped the annual growth of expenses at 13 percent, comparing favourably to the 22 percent increase in consolidated net revenues,” Bloomberry said in its full-year and quarterly results filed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
Bloomberry runs the Solaire Resort and Casino (pictured) at Entertainment City, Manila, in the Philippine capital. It is also developing another resort – known as Solaire North – at Quezon City on the outskirts of the Metro Manila area. The firm also has an operation in South Korea.
“Despite increasing competitive pressure, Solaire maintained its market-leading position,” said Enrique Razon, Bloomberry’s chairman and chief executive, as quoted in the earnings release.
Mr Razon added, referring to the global coronavirus alert that has resulted in a number of travel restrictions around the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world: “We are off to a rough start in 2020 as we contend with the tourism impact of an official world health emergency.”
He further stated: “However, we remain steadfast and aim to demonstrate our resilience by working towards another year of operating excellence.”
The CEO said of the Quezon City scheme: “Work on Solaire North progresses smoothly. We are on track to complete the project in the second half of 2023.”
Group EBITDA, gaming GGR
In the fourth quarter, group consolidated earnings before interest taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were PHP4.0 billion, up by 17 percent compared to PHP3.4 billion in the same quarter of 2018.
Its 2019 consolidated EBITDA was PHP19.8 billion, up 33 percent from PHP14.9 billion in 2018.
The existing Solaire property in Manila contributed PHP20.3 billion to consolidated EBITDA for full 2019, which the firm said was “offset by the PHP463.5 million negative EBITDA recorded at Solaire Korea,” a reference to the firm’s operation at the Jeju Sun property on Jeju island in South Korea.
In the fourth quarter, total gross gaming revenue (GGR) at Solaire in Manila was PHP14.5 billion, 9 percent higher than for the comparable period in 2018. Solaire’s VIP GGR in the fourth quarter declined by 10 percent versus the same quarter in 2018 “due to lower volumes and a less-favourable VIP win rate,” said the group.
Solaire in Manila saw fourth-quarter mass table revenue increase 21 percent in year-on-year terms. Electronic gaming machine (EGM) revenue for the quarter was up 30 percent.
For full-year 2019, Solaire’s VIP play volume declined by 5 percent to PHP771.4 billion. However, full-year VIP GGR increased by 20 percent to PHP26.2 billion from PHP21.8 billion in the previous year.
“Growth was aided by a meaningfully higher VIP win rate of 3.40 percent compared to 2.69 percent in 2018,” said the firm.
