GGRAsia – Bloomberry 2Q GGR likely at US$235mln: Maybank

Bloomberry 2Q GGR likely at US$235mln: Maybank

Jun 19, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck

Gross gaming revenue (GGR) at Philippines-based casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp may reach PHP13.1 billion (US$235.0 million) in the three months to June 30. That is despite the second quarter being a “seasonally weak quarter” in terms of GGR, stated Maybank Securities Inc in a recent note.

The figure would be down 13 percent from the “high base in first-quarter 2023,” stated the brokerage.

“We recognise that first-quarter 2023 earnings benefitted from above-average hold rates for VIPs and mass, and we factor this into our forecasts,” wrote analyst Miguel Sevidal.

“Worth noting is that second-quarter tends to be a seasonally weak quarter for GGR, normalising for the hold rate,” he added.

The institution said it expected Bloomberry’s earnings to reach PHP1.6 billion in the April to June period, down 48 percent sequentially.

In May, Philippines-listed Bloomberry saw its first-quarter net income increase 334.7 percent year-on-year, to just above PHP2.98 billion, on revenue that rose by 78.5 percent, to PHP12.83 billion.

The company operates the Solaire Resort and Casino (pictured) in the Metro Manila region.

“Our current forecasts still have scope for upside surprise from: higher-than-expected hold rates, as we assume normalised rates of 2.9 percent, 32.7 percent, [and] 6.6 percent for VIP, mass, slots [respectively]; and better-than-expected VIP volumes,” said Mr Sevidal.

He added: “Despite the sluggish recovery of Chinese tourist arrivals, we are encouraged by the strong comeback of Korean tourism, which has provided a meaningful boost to VIP GGR.”

In May, Maybank upped its growth estimates for Bloomberry, saying the casino firm had“substantial runway for growth”.