Philippine ops help narrow Bloomberry 3Q loss

Nov 03, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck  

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Philippines-based casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp reported a net loss of PHP189.5 million (US$4.1 million) for the third quarter of 2015, compared to a net profit of PHP991.7 million a year earlier. The firm on Tuesday said its Philippine operations recorded PHP281 million in net profit for the three months to September 30, while a casino resort in South Korea that it recently took over generated PHP471 million in net losses.

Bloomberry Resorts developed and operates the Solaire Resort and Casino in the Philippine capital Manila. The property completed an expansion in November last year with the opening of its Sky Tower.

The firm earlier this year acquired a majority stake in Golden and Luxury Co Ltd, which operates the Jeju Sun Hotel and Casino (pictured) on South Korea’s southern holiday island Jeju. The Jeju Sun resumed operations on September 15 after renovation, Bloomberry Resorts said in Tuesday’s filing.

The company stated the third quarter net loss was “a significant quarter-on-quarter improvement” from the PHP787 million net loss reported in the preceding quarter, and gave the reason as “improving operations in the Philippines”.

“Our investments in the Sky Tower are beginning to show returns. Given the improvement in Philippine operations and the opening of a new revenue stream, we are hopeful that returns will continue to gain higher ground,” Enrique Razon, chairman and chief executive of Bloomberry Resorts, said in a statement accompanying Tuesday’s results.

For the nine-month period, Bloomberry Resorts posted a PHP1.5 billion net loss in contrast to a PHP3.3 billion profit in the prior-year period.

The executive said in a recent interview with Bloomberg News that the Philippines casino market is still growing, supported by what he referred to as mass gaming and the local market.

On Tuesday, the casino operator reported revenues – net of promotional allowances – of PHP7.1 billion for the three months to September 30, up by 28.7 percent from the prior-year period. Operating expenses rose by 58.1 percent year-on-year to PHP5.9 billion.

Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 1.2 percent year-on-year to PHP2.4 billion in the July to September period. It was still a 53-percent improvement quarter-on-quarter, the firm said.

Third quarter EBITDA includes PHP703.3 million in provisions for doubtful accounts, up by 334.4 percent from a year earlier, said Bloomberry Resorts. Provision for doubtful accounts for the nine months ended September 30 amounted to PHP1.7 billion, compared to PHP258.6 million a year ago.

Gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the third quarter grew by 21 percent year-on-year to about PHP9 billion, the company said. In its first 15 days of casino operations, Jeju Sun accounted for fewer than 1 percent of the company’s GGR. Promotional allowances for the period – discounted from the quarterly GGR – reached PHP2.4 billion, up by 9.7 percent from the prior-year period.

Non-gaming revenue for the three months ended September 30 amounted to PHP502 million, an increase of 82 percent year-on-year helped by the South Korean operation, the company said.

Bloomberry Resorts also has plans to invest more than US$1 billion in a new casino resort complex in South Korea.

The casino operator is also eyeing a gaming permit in Argentina, seeking approval for a casino project in that country’s capital Buenos Aires.

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