GGRAsia – Casino operator Bloomberry swings to profit in 2Q

Casino operator Bloomberry swings to profit in 2Q

Aug 11, 2016 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck

Philippines-based Bloomberry Resorts Corp, owner and operator of the Solaire Resort and Casino (pictured) in Manila, reported a profit of approximately PHP1.33 billion (US$28.5 million) in its unaudited results for the three months to June 30, compared to a loss of PHP773.5 million in the prior-year period.

The company said it had basic and diluted earnings of PHP0.122 per share for the quarter, compared to a loss per share of PHP0.070 in the prior-year period.

Gaming revenue for the second quarter rose 42.6 percent, to just over PHP7.81 billion, compared to nearly PHP5.48 billion in the same quarter of 2015. It accounted for 93.4 percent of the firm’s total revenue in the three months to June 30, at PHP8.37 billion.

Operating costs and expenses fell slightly year-on-year in the quarter, by 1.8 percent, to just over PHP5.51 billion, versus PHP5.61 billion in the April to June period last year.

In commentary on the first half results as a whole, Enrique Razon, chairman and chief executive of Bloomberry said in a press statement filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange: “Our hard-stance policy on cost and capital management, coupled with our aggressive marketing campaign, has proven to be effective as shown by these outstanding results.”

For the second quarter, VIP volume, mass table drop and slot coin-in, grew by 22.5 percent, 16 percent and 18.6 percent, respectively, compared to the same period in the prior year, the company said in the press release.

“The second quarter produced the best ever quarterly mass table drop and electronic gaming machine coin-in for Solaire and – coupled with a high VIP hold rate – brought up gross gaming revenues 37 percent quarter-on-quarter and 40 percent year-on-year to PHP10.497 billion,” said Bloomberry in the press statement.

The first phase of Solaire opened on March 16, 2013. As of June 30, 2016, Solaire had a total of 392 gaming tables and 1,839 electronic gaming machines, Bloomberry said on Thursday.

In its latest financial statement, Bloomberry reported VIP table revenue grew by 58.1 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, to nearly PHP5.73 billion, compared to just over PHP3.62 billion in the prior-year period. Mass table revenue at Solaire expanded by 29.4 percent year-on-year in the three months to June 30, reaching just over PHP2.40 billion. Slot revenue rose 9.6 percent to just over PHP2.27 billion, from slightly over PHP2.07 billion.

Market-wide in Macau in the second quarter, VIP revenue, mass-market table games revenue and slot machine revenue fell respectively by 15.7 percent, 1.1 percent and 11.3 percent, albeit from much higher respective bases than those segments in the Philippines market.

Bloomberry said its consolidated second-quarter earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation rose 161.2 percent year-on-year, to just over PHP4.11 billion, compared to slightly over PHP1.57 billion in the prior-year period. Such increase was attributable to “higher volume for all gaming segments and higher VIP hold rates,” the firm said. It said the hold percentage in VIP tables increased by 83 basis points from a year earlier to 3.67 percent.

“We are bucking the trend in regional gaming which has been showing weakness. We are confident that this growth streak will continue,” said Mr Razon in Thursday’s press statement on the consolidated first half results.

In June, Macau VIP gambling room investor Iao Kun Group Holding Co Ltd announced it was to acquire the Jeju Sun Hotel and Casino – on Jeju Island in South Korea – from Bloomberry, with a likely closure date for the deal falling outside the second quarter reporting period.

On Thursday, Bloomberry said it had deliberately reduced expenses related to Jeju Sun rather than increasing VIP volume at the property.