Gaming drives Belle Corp to record revenue in 2018

Mar 04, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck  

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Belle Corp of the Philippines has reported a record recurring net profit on the strength of best-yet revenues drawn mainly from the conglomerate’s gaming interests.

In a statement to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the investor in casinos said annual recurring net profit, excluding capital gains on sales of non-core investments and extraordinary items, rose by 10 percent year-on-year in 2018, to PHP3.6 billion (US$69.56 million). Annual consolidated revenue rose by 6 percent in year-on-year terms to PHP8.5 billion.

In Friday’s written statement, the conglomerate said annual consolidated net profit fell to PHP3.2 billion, an 8-percent decrease compared to the year before.

Belle Corp’s statement says revenue and recurring net profit were driven by growth in gaming revenue. Earnings attributed to a subsidiary, Premium Leisure Corp, from the City of Dreams Manila casino resort (pictured) rose by 23 percent year-on-year, to PHP3.2 billion in 2018.

The Belle Corp real estate business generated PHP3.4 billion of revenue last year, about 9 percent more than the year before. Rent from the land and buildings the City of Dreams Manila occupies rose by 6 percent to PHP2.4 billion.

The company declared last week a regular dividend of PHP0.12 a share, or about PHP1.2 billion altogether, payable on March 28 to shareholders on record on March 14.

The City of Dreams Manila is the main gaming asset of Belle Corp. The casino resort is run by Melco Resorts and Entertainment (Philippines) Corp, which pays Belle Corp rent and a share of its revenue or earnings from its gaming operations there.

Melco Resorts and Entertainment Philippines is a subsidiary of Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd, an operator of casinos in Asia, including the City of Dreams, Altira Macau and Studio City casino resorts in Macau.

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