Growth is becoming routine for Okada Manila. Universal Entertainment Corp, the operator of the Manila area casino, has announced preliminary numbers for March 2019, and it once again shows huge growth.
In March, the casino brought in PHP3.3 billion ($63.7 million) in gross gaming revenue (GGR). That represents a 67.9% growth from March 2018. Even better, this was a big improvement on the PHP2.38 billion ($45.2 million) the firm brought in for February 2019, demonstrating that they’re growing fast in the short term as well.
Universal was happy to explain that the month-on-month growth was “primarily due to a recovery in both domestic and international players following the Chinese New Year holidays, resulting in increased volumes in VIP rolling, mass-table drop and gaming machine handle”.
The week-long Chinese New Year holiday, which falls in February, is a big reason for Chinese tourists to travel, but not to gambling destinations. Showing both year-on-year and month-on-month growth in March demonstrates the company came back to form after the minor slump. It wasn’t too bad though, considering the operator had a 73% year-on-year increase for February.
The company also reported a big increase in adjusted segmental earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), hitting PHP509 million ($9.8 million), compared to PHP139 million ($2.69 million) the year before.
The company has been on a tear for months now, also reporting growth in January 2019. As the company noted, junket deals, like the one alluded to in a January report, is helping to increase revenue through increased Chinese VIP tourism. Giving those players additional space to play in, by taking on debt to finish construction, is going to help a lot long term as well.
Not all of the news around Okada Manila is perfect. Perjury charges against former chairman Kazuo Okada thrown out, giving him the smallest bit of momentum in his mission to regain control of the casino and the operation. On the Brightside, that likely won’t result in much, and Universal can go ahead with their plan to change the name on the resort.
