GGRAsia – Bloomberry posts 3Q loss on higher costs, lower EBITDA

Bloomberry posts 3Q loss on higher costs, lower EBITDA

Nov 13, 2024 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck

Philippines-listed Bloomberry Resorts Corp reported a consolidated net loss of under PHP470.2 million (US$8.0 million) for the three months to September 30, compared with a PHP1.95-billion profit a year earlier. It compared with a profit of PHP1.34 billion in the second quarter this year.

The information was in a Wednesday filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange. The company runs Solaire Resort & Casino in the Philippine capital Manila, and in May opened Solaire Resort North (pictured), another gaming complex in Quezon City, northeast of Manila.

“The net loss was a result of lower EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation], significantly higher depreciation and amortisation, and interest expense associated with Solaire North,” stated the company.

The third-quarter results were dragged by a 55.2-percent increase year-on-year in operating costs and expenses, to PHP11.67 billion.

The casino firm reported consolidated net revenue of PHP13.67 billion in the third quarter, down 27.2 percent from the prior-year quarter.

Bloomberry’s third-quarter consolidated EBITDA stood at just under PHP4.06 billion, a decrease of 3.4 percent from a year ago. Such EBITDA rose by 11.5 percent quarter-on-quarter, as Solaire Resort North reported its first full quarter of operations.

Enrique Razon, Bloomberry’s chairman and chief executive, was quoted saying in a press release issued with the latest results: “As we started to record higher depreciation costs and interest expenses related to the commencement of Solaire Resort North’s operations, we reported a net loss in the July to September quarter of 2024.”

He added: “The business environment remains challenging in Entertainment City as gaming volumes declined. However, the gaming volumes generated by our Quezon City property more than offset this weakness resulting in a 22 percent year-over-year increase in our total Philippine gaming revenues for the quarter. After its first full quarter of operations, we believe that Solaire North’s ramp-up is still on pace.”

Total gross gaming revenue (GGR) from the Philippines gaming business – measured against when it was a single-property operator in the market – was PHP16.26 billion, up 22.1 percent from a year ago.

It included GGR of PHP12.59 billion from Solaire Resort at Entertainment City, and PHP3.68 billion from the Quezon City complex.

Consolidated EBITDA at the first property stood at PHP3.59 billion in the three months to September 30, down 18.0 percent year-on-year. Solaire Resort North recorded EBITDA of PHP660.0 million in the first full quarter of operations.

VIP rolling chip volume in the Philippines was PHP112.01 billion in the third quarter, down 23.3 percent from a year earlier, while VIP revenue declined by 10.6 percent, to PHP3.60 billion.

Mass table drop was just under PHP16.90 billion in the three months to September 30, a year-on-year increase of 21.9 percent. Revenue in the segment rose by 47.9 percent, to nearly PHP6.11 billion.

The Philippine operation’s electronic gaming machine segment recorded a 27.5-percent year-on-year increase in revenue, to PHP6.56 billion.

Bloomberry’s Jeju Sun property in Jeju, South Korea, recorded negative EBITDA of PHP71.9 million for the three months to September 30, compared with a negative figure of PHP42.6 million a year earlier.

In a note this week, Maybank Securities Inc cut its net revenue forecasts for Bloomberry for 2024 and 2025. It cited softness in GGR and in recent times “fewer fly-in Chinese VIP players”.

In October, the casino group announced a PHP72.0-billion syndicated refinancing facility with a group of banks.