GGRAsia – Pagcor 2021 net income down 87pct y-o-y

Pagcor 2021 net income down 87pct y-o-y

Feb 04, 2022 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck

The Philippine casino regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), saw its 2021 net income drop by 86.9 percent year-on-year, to PHP203.57 million (US$3.99 million), compared to just over PHP1.55 billion in 2020, according to data released on Sunday.

The 2020 result had itself been a decline of nearly 84 percent year-on-year, amid disruption to travel and casino business linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pagcor’s reduction in net income for the 12 months to December 31, 2021, was on gross income from gaming operations that actually grew by nearly 8.8 percent year-on-year, to PHP32.63 billion, from nearly PHP30.00 billion in the prior year.

The 2020 results had been helped by a more than PHP4.97 billion one-off gain from the sale of a lot, according to Pagcor’s data, under the heading “other income”. For 2021, “other income” was down 75.0 percent, at PHP1.24 billion

Pagcor directly operates a suite of state-run casinos and oversees a number of private-sector ones. Its own brand of casinos is called “Casino Filipino”.

Cash flows from 2021 operating activities included just over PHP6.02 billion income from casino customers, down from just under PHP7.14 billion in 2020.

The 2021 income from, respectively, junket operators, non-casino customers and “other” income, amounted to PHP27.12 billion, up from circa PHP27.05 billion a year earlier.

Income derived from licensed casinos was just over PHP13.86 billion, up from PHP11.52 billion in 2020. Income from junket operations was PHP202.9 million, versus PHP397.8 million in 2020.

Income collected from Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in full-year 2021 was down by more than 40 percent, to just under PHP2.59 billion, versus PHP4.66 billion in 2020.

Out of its 2021 gross income, Pagcor had to deduct just over PHP17.13 billion in taxes and other contributions to the government. Of that, just under PHP15.44 billion was for the national government’s 50 percent share; just over PHP1.63 billion was for a 5-percent franchise tax; and PHP60 million was remitted to the Dangerous Drugs Board.

Pagcor’s total expenses for 2021 fell by just under 4.5 percent year-on-year, to PHP17.86 billion, from PHP18.70 billion in 2020.

The 2021 expenses tally included just over PHP4.66 billion in subsidies payable to national government agencies under the heading “corporate social responsibility projects”. The 2020 contribution had been nearly PHP5.15 billion.