Philippines’ Newport World Resorts recorded a 15 percent year-on-year decline in net gaming revenue to PHP5.0 billion ($81 million) in the first quarter of 2026, as continued weakness in the VIP segment was only partly offset by a resilient mass market.
According to a filing on Thursday from parent company Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), net gaming revenue refers to the amount remaining after promotional allowances — incentives such as free play, rebates and complimentary services granted to players — are deducted from gross gaming revenue (GGR).
At Newport World Resorts, GGR for the quarter stood at PHP6.6 billion ($107 million), while promotional allowances were ‘scaled back’ by 23 percent year-on-year to PHP1.6 billion ($26 million), reflecting a deliberate pullback in marketing incentives.
Travellers International Hotel Group, AGI’s leisure and tourism arm and operator of the Manila integrated resort, posted net revenues of PHP7.0 billion ($114 million) for the three months ended March 31st, down 9.2 percent year-on-year, while gross revenues reached PHP8.6 billion ($140 million).
Cost discipline was the central theme of the quarter. Direct costs were reduced 5 percent year-on-year, helping AGI ‘limit GP margin compression to 44 percent,’ the filing said.
Operating expenses decreased 6 percent to PHP2.3 billion ($37 million), driven mainly by disciplined marketing expenditures, while interest expenses fell 13 percent to PHP0.9 billion ($15 million), benefiting from a lower interest rate environment and a higher portion of borrowing costs being capitalized. EBITDA came in at PHP1.7 billion ($28 million), down from PHP2.1 billion a year earlier, while net profit for the period stood at PHP30.2 million ($489,000).
Non-gaming activities provided the main offset to gaming softness. Non-gaming revenues climbed 10 percent year-on-year to PHP2.0 billion ($32 million), driven by higher average hotel rates and improved retail spending within the Newport World Resorts complex.
‘Structurally, a resilient mass segment cushioned the impact of overall weakness in VIP gaming, while steady demand lifted performance across the hotels, food and beverage, theater, cinemas and other service operations,’ AGI said. Average occupancy rates across the five hotels at Newport World Resorts ranged between 83 percent and 95 percent, matching the high baseline a year earlier.
Travellers accounted for 16 percent of AGI’s consolidated revenues and 0.4 percent of consolidated net profit in the quarter. At the group level, AGI reported consolidated revenues of PHP42.2 billion ($685 million) and net income of PHP7.8 billion ($127 million), up 6 percent on a normalized basis.
