Belle Corp profit falls 15pct in 3Q on soaring costs

Nov 06, 2017 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck  

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Net profit at Philippine conglomerate Belle Corp fell 15 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, on revenue that actually rose 31.2 percent.

Belle Corp receives a share of the gaming income at City of Dreams Manila (pictured) – a casino property operated by a unit of Asian gaming firm Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd – via Belle’s 78.7-percent owned subsidiary, Premium Leisure Corp.

Belle Corp’s net profit for the three months to September 30 was PHP715.57 million (US$13.9 million), compared to PHP841.82 million in the prior-year quarter. Total third-quarter revenue was PHP2.097 billion, compared to PHP1.598 billion a year earlier.

The cost to the group of gaming operations fell 80.8 percent year-on-year in the third quarter. Such costs were PHP12.10 million, compared to PHP62.92 million in the prior-year period.

But total costs and expenses for the quarter rose 76.9 percent year-on-year, to PHP948.15 million, from PHP538.96 million in the prior-year period. General and administrative expenses jumped 314.6 percent in the third quarter, to PHP471.89 million, from PHP113.82 million in the prior-year period.

Belle Corp’s net profit for the first nine months of the year rose 37.1 percent, to PHP2.172 billion, compared to PHP1.585 billion a year earlier.

Basic earnings per share rose 34.8 percent in the first nine months, to PHP0.31, compared to PHP0.23 in the prior-year period.

Third-quarter net income at Premium Leisure rose 57.4 percent, to approximately PHP427.8 million, the latter firm reported in October.

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