GGRAsia – Resorts World Manila op has US$38mln in 9 mth net income

Resorts World Manila op has US$38mln in 9 mth net income

Nov 17, 2021 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck

Travellers International Hotel Group Inc, the owner and operator of the Resorts World Manila casino resort (pictured), says it accumulated net income of PHP1.9 billion (US$37.8 million) in the nine months to September 30, reversing a loss of PHP5.4 billion recorded the same period a year earlier.

Travellers International’s gross revenues for the first nine months went up by 28 percent year-on-year, to PHP14.8 billion, “with gross gaming revenues up sharply by 37 percent year-on-year to PHP12.8 billion, nearly matching its full-year 2020 level,” said the firm.

That was despite temporary shutdowns of business at various times during the nine months, linked to Covid-19 countermeasures in Metro Manila put in place by the Philippine government.

Manila-listed Alliance Global Group Inc and Hong Kong-listed Genting Hong Kong Ltd control Travellers International.

Alliance Global said in a filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange, giving some brief details on Travellers International’s third-quarter and nine-month performance, that it had “managed to overcome the reimposed lockdown” in Manila in the third quarter, as gross revenues at Resorts World Manila reached PHP5.0 billion.

Alliance Global said that was 36 percent up year-on-year, and a rise of 9 percent judged quarter-on-quarter.

The improvement was “driven largely by the resurgence in gross gaming revenues to PHP4.9 billion during the quarter, reflecting a 53 percent increase year-on-year, and 46 percent quarter-on-quarter.

Third-quarter hotel revenues at Resorts World Manila rose 77 percent year-on-year, and 21 percent quarter-on-quarter, with overall hotel occupancy rates at 79 percent, “nearly hitting its pre-pandemic level”, said Alliance Global.

The filing said Travellers International had benefited in the first nine months of 2021 from a PHP5.6 billion payment received for “services rendered by its subsidiary in relation to its Westside City project”.

Via one of its units, Travellers International is involved in the development of the Westside City project located at Entertainment City, which also involves a casino hotel to be managed by Hong Kong-listed Suncity Group Holdings.

In mid-October, several large private-sector casino resorts in Manila’s Entertainment City zone – including Resorts World Manila – had confirmed that gaming had restarted at those properties, following the relaxation of lockdown rules in the capital region.

Manila’s casino resorts were subject to shutdown as a Covid-19 countermeasure, starting most recently from August 6.