Net profit of Philippine-listed casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp. jumped to a record of PHP3.691 billion (US$71.2 million) in the first quarter of 2018 on the back of robust mass market and VIP gaming.
Data provided by Bloomberry showed that its net profit for the three months ending March 2018 was 71 percent higher than the PHP2.153 billion ($41.46 million) net profit it reported in the first quarter of 2017.
The firm’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) was up 28.3% to PHP13.75 billion ($264.77 million), and accounted for 94.4 percent of Bloomberry’s overall Q1 revenue.
Reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) rose 44 percent year-on-year to PHP4.537 billion ($87.37 million), the highest ever reported in a quarter, according to the casino operator.
“We are off to a good start. Our fundamentals are solid, our cost optimization initiatives are working, so we should be on tract to making this a banner year,” Bloomberry Chairman and CEO Enrique Razon, Jr. said in a statement.
The Manila-based firm operates Solaire Resort & Casino in the Entertainment City gaming zone in Manila and the Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino in Jeju Island, South Korea.
Solaire’s GGR was at PHP13.69 billion ($263.62 million), up 28.5 percent from PHP10.66 billion ($205.3 million) in Q1 2017. Solaire generated its highest quarterly mass table drops and electronic gaming machine (EGM) coin-ins, rising 17% and 23%, respectively.
Despite seeing a 12 percent drop in VIP volumes, Solaire’s VIP gross gaming revenue hit PHP7.1 billion ($136.72 million), up 39 percent year-on-year.
Solaire’s hotel and food and beverage revenue increased by PHP9.5 million ($182,933) or 1.8 percent.
Meanwhile, Jeju Sun continued to be a drag for Bloomberry, with gross gaming revenue dropping 13 percent to PHP51 million ($982,063) in the first three months of 2018. The firm attributed the decline to the decreasing number of Chinese tourist arrivals in Jeju as well as tough competition from other casinos.
