Philippine-listed leisure estate and gaming firm Belle Corp. posted a 93 percent net profit gain in the first half of 2017 as it rides on the vibrant gambling activity in City of Dreams Manila.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Belle Corp announced that its net profit grew to PHP1.77 billion (US$35.25 million) in January to June 30, 2017 period, thanks to the leasing and gaming revenue of the integrated gaming resort.
Belle’s recurring net income for the first semester, which excludes capital gains on sales of non-core investments, amounted to PHP1.66 billion ($33.06 million), up 82 percent year-on-year.
Through its 78.7 percent-owned subsidiary Premium Leisure Corp. (PLC), Belle’s gaming income from City of Dreams more than doubled to P1.46 billion ($29.08 million).
Last week, PLC reported net income of P895.21 million ($17.69 million) for the first six months of 2017 – 153% higher than the P353.06 million ($6.98 million) earned a year ago. Revenues also jumped 58% to P2.52 billion from P1.59 billion during the same period last year.
Belle’s principal assets include land and buildings located at PAGCOR Entertainment City in Paranaque City, which are being leased on a long-term basis to Melco Resorts & Entertainment. Most of this property is the site of the City of Dreams Manila gaming and resort operations, which encompasses 6.2 hectares of land and more than 30 hectares in building gross floor area.
City of Dreams Manila includes approximately two hectares of gaming space, more than 900 hotel rooms operated under three hotel brands (Crown, Hyatt and Nobu), the DreamPlay indoor family amusement park, and approximately two hectares of restaurant and retail space. Belle also owns approximately one hectare of presently undeveloped land across from the City of Dreams Manila site.
