GGRAsia – Travellers reports Q1 profit jump

Travellers reports Q1 profit jump

May 16, 2014 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines

The operator of Resorts World Manila posted a profit of 1.72 billion pesos (US$39.3 million) for the first three months of 2014, up from 995.4 million pesos a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Travellers International Hotel Group Inc is a joint venture between Philippine-based Alliance Global Group Inc and Genting Hong Kong Ltd, a subsidiary of Malaysia’s Genting Bhd. Resorts World Manila opened in 2009.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the casino operator said it grew its earnings as win rates improved, even as gaming revenue slumped.

The company’s gross gaming revenues for the three months ended March 31 was 7.21 billion pesos, down 23.4 percent over the same period last year.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the first quarter increased by 31.5 percent to 2.61 billion pesos.

“All segments generally saw an improvement in volume except for VIP Overseas, which is affected by the difference in international calendar of activities,” Travellers International said in the filing.

Gaming revenues contributed 7.2 billion pesos to gross revenues, with hotel, food and beverage, and other revenues at 791.1 million pesos, the company said.

Travellers International recently announced it had secured an approval from state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) to expand its gaming.

The approval will bring total gaming capacity to 420 tables and 4,148 combined gaming machine count, the company said.

Travellers International is currently developing the second and third phase of Resorts World Manila, which involves construction of new hotels and non-gaming attractions.