Belle Corp, a Philippine conglomerate that targets gaming operations, had a few reasons to celebrate the end of the second quarter this year. In a filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange last Friday, the company reported that its net income increased by 10.2%, reaching $17.3 million. This was an increase of about $1.6 million over the same period in 2017 when the company reported $15.7 million in net income.
Belle receives a portion of the gaming revenues or earnings from City of Dreams Manila (CoDM), which is operated by an arm of Melco Resorts. This is due to a 78.7% stake in its Premium Leisure Corp. subsidiary, which has partnered with Melco in the CoDM project.
Gaming revenue for Belle climbed 43.9% year-on-year for the three-month period ending June 30. It reached just over $20.1 million, compared to the $13.98 million generated in the second quarter of 2017. Across the company, revenue increased to $47 million, up 17.1% over the $40.3 million it pulled in during the same quarter last year.
Expenses for gaming operations took a huge nosedive, plummeting 92.7% year-on-year. According to Belle, this was due to “lower consultancy fees and other costs.” Whereas in the second quarter of 2017 the company spent $1.04 million on gaming operations, it only had to lay $77,217 during the second quarter this year.
While Belle has seen its revenue increase, CoDM wasn’t as fortunate. For the second quarter, net revenue at the resort was $173.9 million, down from the $176.2 million recorded a year ago. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, amortization and depreciation (EBITDA) was reported at $87.3 million this year compared to $62.8 million in the same quarter last year. The EBITDA was supported by an increased VIP win rate.
Rolling chip volume, the amount of chips gambled at the tables, came in at $3 billion, down $200,000 from the previous year. However, the rolling chip win rate improved this year to 3.7% versus the 3.5% in the same period last year. Mass-market table drop also improved, bumping up $100,000 from the $169.8 million seen in the second quarter last year.
According to Kevin Benning, CoDM senior VP and COO, the resort property is going strong. During an analyst conference call last week, he said, “We had an amazing quarter with our premium direct business in particular really driving a lot of it, and then our mass business just continues to be our bread and butter…We’re seeing a lot of upside opportunities and very, very pleased with just both the local and international markets here [in Manila].”
