GGRAsia – Bloomberry 3Q EBITDA down q-o-q, GGR up 25pct

Bloomberry 3Q EBITDA down q-o-q, GGR up 25pct

Nov 05, 2021 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck

Philippine casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp reported earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of about PHP910.1 million (US$18.0 million) for the third quarter of 2021. That was a decline from the PHP1.03 billion recorded in the previous three months.

The company said on Friday that the third quarter results were negatively affected by a 41-day closure during the reporting period of its Solaire Resort and Casino venue (pictured in a file photo) in Manila, as a countermeasure against Covid-19. In the second quarter, the property had been closed for 44 days, for similar reasons.

The third-quarter EBITDA was an improvement on the negative figure of PHP203.7 billion reported a year earlier, said the firm in a press release.

Solaire closed temporarily from August 6 to September 15 inclusive as the national government highthened its community quarantine measures for Metro Manila. The property resumed operations on September 16, when the government’s guidelines were eased, with Solaire “keeping to its invite-only policy” and operating the casino at “a limited capacity as allowed by Pagcor”. That was a reference to the country’s casino regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Aggregate gross gaming revenue (GGR) at Solaire during the third quarter was around PHP7.1 billion, representing an increase of approximately 25 percent from the PHP5.67 billion recorded in the previous three months. In year-on-year terms, GGR was higher by PHP2.9 billion.

“VIP rolling chip volume, mass table drop, and EGM [electronic gaming machine] coin-in showed signs of recovery in the third quarter on both sequential and year-over-year bases, indicating much improved domestic patron confidence,” stated Bloomberry.

Solaire’s VIP GGR in the third quarter was PHP2.0 billion, representing a 1.0 percent decline from the same quarter last year. The property’s mass table and EGM GGR stood at PHP2.7 billion and PHP2.4 billion, representing year-over-year gains of 144 percent and 89 percent, respectively. On a sequential basis, VIP and electronic gaming machine GGR recorded increases of 72 percent and 42 percent, respectively. Mass tables GGR recorded a quarter-on-quarter decrease of 4 percent, “mainly due to a lower hold rate,” stated Bloomberry.

The group’s Jeju Sun gaming operation in Jeju, South Korea, has been shut since March 21, 2020.

Bloomberry’s group-wide net revenue for the three months to June 30 was PHP5.1 billion, up approximately 8.3 percent from the previous quarter, and an increase of more 59 percent from the prior-year period.

The group’s net loss attributable to shareholders for the third quarter was PHP1.1 billion, slightly below the PHP1.16 billion recorded in the three months ended June 2021, and a significant improvement on the PHP2.5 billion net loss posted a year earlier.

“In the third quarter, Bloomberry realised higher gaming volumes and revenues despite the intermittent business conditions brought about by shifting quarantine classifications,” said the firm’s chairman and chief executive Enrique Razon in comments included in Friday’s press release.

He added: “We are prepared to continue operating in such an environment, but are looking forward to a more stable one should domestic restrictions be eased in line with the increasing vaccination rate.”

Bloomberry is developing a second Philippine casino resort – Solaire North – at Quezon City on the outskirts of the Metro Manila area.