Philippine casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp. on Wednesday reported a 52 percent drop in first-half net income, dragged by continued weakness in VIP and premium mass gaming at its flagship Solaire Resort Entertainment City.
Net profit for the six months to June fell 52 percent to PHP1.9 billion ($33 million) from PHP4.0 billion ($69 million) a year earlier, the company said in a statement.
Second-quarter results swung to a net loss of PHP1.4 billion ($24 million) from a PHP1.3 billion ($22 million) profit in the same period last year, as consolidated EBITDA slid 30 percent to PHP2.5 billion ($43 million).
Gross gaming revenue in the April-June period slipped 1 percent year-on-year to PHP14.3 billion ($246 million), hit by softer volumes in high-end segments at Solaire Entertainment City.
Its new Solaire Resort North in Quezon City generated PHP4.5 billion ($78 million) in GGR, almost 297 percent higher than its partial operating period a year ago.
In the financial announcement, Chairman Enrique Razon said the company faced ‘a challenging second quarter’ but noted steady growth in Solaire North’s mass gaming and non-gaming businesses.
‘Solaire North saw further growth as mass gaming volumes and non-gaming revenue increased over the previous quarter. The gains in our second property contributed to the performance of our Metro Manila mass gaming and non-gaming revenue, which rose 18 percent and 37 percent year-over-year, respectively’, Razon noted.
Mass-market table and slot machine revenue across the two Metro Manila properties rose 18 percent in the quarter, while non-gaming revenue jumped 35 percent to PHP3.2 billion ($55 million).
For the first half, consolidated gross gaming revenue rose 6 percent to PHP31.1 billion ($536 million) from PHP29.2 billion ($504 million) a year earlier. Net revenue climbed 9 percent to PHP27.0 billion ($465 million), while EBITDA fell 19 percent to PHP6.9 billion ($119 million).
Bloomberry also cited higher costs, including PHP461 million ($8 million) in expenses for its new “MegaFUNalo!” online platform, launched in June.
In South Korea, Solaire Korea’s Jeju Sun posted gross gaming revenue of PHP2.5 million ($43,000), down from PHP35.7 million ($614,000) a year earlier, as net revenue fell 20 percent to PHP 128.3 million ($2.21 million).
Non-gaming revenue edged up 1 percent to PHP126.2 million ($2.17 million). The property recorded LBITDA of PHP 41.4 million ($0.71 million), narrowing from PHP89.4 million ($1.54 million) a year ago.
In the Philippines, Solaire Entertainment City’s total GGR fell 27 percent to PHP9.8 billion ($169 million) on weaker volumes and lower win rates in VIP and slots, while Solaire North continued to ramp up with quarterly EBITDA of PHP1.1 billion ($19 million) and net revenue of PHP4.3 billion ($74 million).
Hotel occupancy in the quarter was 72.6 percent at Solaire Entertainment City and 61.8 percent at Solaire North.
