GGRAsia – Bloomberry narrows 3Q loss, as Solaire rev improves

Bloomberry narrows 3Q loss, as Solaire rev improves

Nov 11, 2020 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck

Philippine casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp reported a net loss of PHP2.54 billion (US$52.5 million) for the third quarter of 2020, an improvement from the PHP4.70-billion loss in the preceding quarter as revenue rose sequentially. The company had reported a profit of PHP3.92 billion for the third quarter of 2019.

The firm said in a filing on Tuesday its third-quarter results reflected the “difficult business environment wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic”.

The firm’s Solaire Resort and Casino (pictured), located at Entertainment City in the Philippine capital Manila, “continued to operate at capacities consistent with a limited dry-run as allowed by relevant [national] authorities,” said Bloomberry. The “limited dry-run” since June 15 “involves only long-stay hotel guests and select invitees. Solaire remains closed to the public,” it added.

In the third quarter, group consolidated earnings before interest taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were negative PHP203.7 million, compared to a positive result of PHP6.36 billion in the same quarter of 2019. The result was still an improvement from the negative EBITDA of PHP1.96 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2020.

Bloomberry’s group-wide revenue for the three months to September 30 contracted by 75.8 percent year-on-year, to just above PHP3.20 billion, but it improved from the PHP896.1 million recorded in the second quarter this year.

“Our third quarter results reflect the difficult business environment brought about by the pandemic, which has negatively impacted international travel and overall demand for leisure and gaming entertainment services,” said Enrique Razon, Bloomberry’s chairman and chief executive, as quoted in the earnings release.

He added: “In the near term, we hope to see a recovery as domestic quarantine restrictions are eased further.”

Solaire recorded gross gaming revenue of PHP4.38 billion for the third quarter, up from the PHP464.1 million in the preceding quarter, but down 74.4 percent from the PHP17.11 billion achieved in the equivalent period a year earlier.

An extensive lockdown for Metro Manila, including for its large-scale casino resorts in Entertainment City, was first announced in mid-March as part of Covid-19 countermeasures, and was subsequently extended in increments although the terms were relaxed somewhat. In early August, the local authorities said that Metro Manila would return to a stricter lockdown, known as “modified enhanced community quarantine” at least until August 18.

Bloomberry is developing another resort – known as Solaire North – at Quezon City on the outskirts of the Metro Manila area. Because of countermeasures against Covid-19 in the Philippines, that property is now expected to be completed at the end of 2022 or early 2023.

The casino firm also has an operation in South Korea called Jeju Sun. The Korea operation reported no gaming revenue for the quarter “as gaming operations at the property have been suspended since March 21, 2020,” said Bloomberry.

For the first nine months of 2020, Bloomberry reported a net loss of nearly PHP5.86 billion, compared with net income of PHP8.59 billion in the prior-year period.