GGRAsia – MJC affiliate has Winford 3Q gaming rev share up 22pct

MJC affiliate has Winford 3Q gaming rev share up 22pct

Nov 18, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck

Philippine-listed MJC Investments Corp – controlled by the Manila Jockey Club Inc (MJC) – says it recorded a 22.1-percent increase in its revenue share from gaming operations during the third quarter at the Winford Hotel and Casino (pictured in a file photo).

The property – which cost PHP8 billion (US$158 million) and opened in January 2016 – is located within the San Lazaro Tourism and Business Park, in Metro Manila, in the Philippines.

MJC Investments is entitled to a 40-percent share of gross revenue from Winford’s casino operations, according to an agreement with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), the country’s gaming regulator-cum-operator.

Pagcor operates a suite of state-run casinos – including in partnership with third parties – and oversees a number of private-sector ones.

MJC Investments’ gaming revenue share from the Winford casino stood at PHP137.1 million in the third quarter, compared to PHP112.3 million in the prior-year period, the firm said in a filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday.

The company said the increase was linked to an expansion in gaming capacity at the property that would extend into the final quartile. The firm noted that a VIP room on the third floor of the Winford property had become “operational in July and is expected to expand… gaming capacity by year-end, with additional gaming tables making the total count reach 40 by the fourth quarter.”

As of September 30, Winford’s casino operations featured a total of 32 gaming tables.

The electronic gaming machine inventory at the property – including electronic table game seats – is also poised to increase, said MJC Investments. “New slot machines are in the pipeline and will be ready by the fourth quarter, while slots capacity is expected to reach 600 units by year-end”, from 521 at the end of the third quarter, the firm stated.

The firm’s total revenue for the July to September period – including gaming revenue share, bingo operations, operation of non-gaming facilities and rental income – stood at PHP197.1 million, up 13.0 percent in year-on-year terms.

MJC Investments posted a net loss of PHP124.4 million for the third quarter of 2019, an improvement compared to a loss of PHP216.0 million a year earlier. The firm said it planned to raise “additional funds” through stock rights options “to partially pay its debt-servicing requirements.” As of September 30, the company had PHP2.27 billion in loans payable.

MJC Investments also said that, during the reporting period, a company subsidiary that had an agreement to operate as a junket at Winford’s casino, had ceased its junket operations.