Premium Leisure moves into black

Nov 13, 2014 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck  

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Premium Leisure Corp on Thursday reported its quarterly earnings. The entity is a holding company for a stake controlled by the family of U.S. dollar billionaire Henry Sy in the licence of City of Dreams Manila casino resort (pictured in a rendering) in the Philippines.

The firm recorded consolidated income of just under PHP1.43 billion (US$31.9 million) for the nine months to September 30, compared to a consolidated net loss of PHP6.5 million for the year-prior period.

Premium Leisure said the improvement was due mainly to “net reversal of a provision for impairment of its investment in Legend International Resorts (HK) Ltd” amounting to approximately PHP1.22 billion.

According to the International Law Office (ILO) in London, Legend International Resorts Ltd was incorporated in Hong Kong and was involved in running a casino at Subic Bay in the Philippines.

In July 1998 Legend defaulted on repayment on a US$33 million loan facility it had taken with Société Générale Asia (Singapore) Ltd. On June 8, 2006, the court of first instance in Hong Kong ordered Legend International Resorts to be wound up on the basis of its inability to pay its debts, according to ILO, citing court records.

In July this year Premium Leisure and its parent Belle Corp underwent a corporate reorganisation. Under it, Belle transferred its gaming assets – consisting of 100 percent ownership of Premium Leisure and Amusement Inc (PLAI) and its 34.5 percent interest in Pacific Online Systems Corp – to Premium Leisure.

In September Belle announced the pricing for a sale of 3.26 billion shares in Premium Leisure. Belle also agreed to sell up to 490 million additional shares of Premium Leisure under an over-allotment option. The exercise reduced Belle’s stake in Premium Leisure to slightly above 77 percent, according to a filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

PLAI is part of the consortium that holds the licence from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) – that country’s gaming regulator – for City of Dreams Manila.

The casino resort is due to have a first phase soft opening in December, said Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, co-chairman of one of the other investors, Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd, during an earnings conference call for that firm on November 6.

Melco Crown will manage the resort, which is located at Entertainment City, Manila Bay.

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