Bloomberry Resorts Corp., operator of Solaire Resort & Casino, incurred a decline in the first three months of 2015, as higher depreciation and other expenses from the opening of Solaire’s new wing offset the double-digit rise in gaming revenues.
Bloomberry, in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday, posted a net loss of P533m in January to March period, versus a P1.46b net profit in the same period last year
In the first quarter, gross gaming revenues went up by 15% year-on-year to P8.09b as Solaire attracted an even split of VIP vs. mass market. Revenues net of promotional allowances increased by 9% year-on-year to P6.34b.
Bloomberry noted that the first quarter of this year was Solaire’s second best quarter in terms of gross gaming revenues after the fourth quarter of last year.
Non-gaming revenues also grew by 13% year-on-year.
Bloomberry derived 94% of its revenue from gaming while hotel, food and beverage accounted for 5%. The balance of 1% came from retail, other and interest income.
Bloomberry said aggregate costs surged 42% to P6.2b in Q1, “mostly from higher depreciation and interest expenses resulting from the completion of Sky Tower last November as well as provisioning for doubtful accounts.”
“We are happy with the steady growth of Solaire with operations remaining robust. The Sky Tower is a big success, and we expect that investment to generate profits very soon,” said Bloomberry Chairman and CEO Enrique Razon Jr.
Operating expenses rose by 25% with the opening of the Sky Tower, doubling the size of the Solaire facility. The new wing added restaurants and non-gaming amenities as well as expanded the property’s hotel room count by 64% to a total of 800 rooms.
Working costs in Q1 went up 25% to P4.595b.
