Record-high gross gaming revenues lift Philippine casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp. back to profitability in the second quarter of 2016.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, Bloomberry’s net profit surged by 69 percent to PHP1.33 billion (US$ 28.45 million) in April-June period of 2016, which is a rebound from the net loss of P787 million (US$16.84 million) in the same period last year.
The strong second quarter performance of Bloomberry, operator of Solaire Resort & Casino, made it possible for the casino operator to chalk up a net profit of PHP174 million (US$ 3.72 million) for the first half of 2016, a turnaround from the PHP1.32 billion (US$28.24 million) net loss incurred in the same period last year.
Excluding the P434 million (US$ 9.29 million) drag from Korea, Bloomberry would have reported P608 million (US$13 million) in net profit in the first six months.
“Our hard stance policy on cost and capital management, coupled with our aggressive marketing campaign, has proven to be effective as shown by these outstanding results. We are bucking the trend in regional gaming which has been showing weakness. We are confident that this growth streak will continue,” Bloomberry chair and chief executive officer Enrique Razon Jr. said in a statement.
Bloomberry’s stellar second quarter profit was a result of strong volumes in all of its gaming segments. The company reported that its high-roller or VIP turnover grew by 22 percent while the mass table and electronic gaming machine bets increased by 8 percent and 14 percent, respectively.
For the January-June period, Bloomberry’s gross gaming revenues saw a 17 percent year-on-year increase to an all-time high of P18.15 billion (US$ 388.31 million) while non-gaming revenues also hit record high levels with a 29 percent increase to P1.12 billion (US$23.96 million).
Total revenues net of promotional allowances for the first semester increased by 14 percent to an all-time high of P14.11 billion (US$ 301.88 million). For the second quarter alone, revenues surged by 40 percent year-on-year to P8.38 billion (US$179.29 million).
The second quarter generated the best ever quarterly mass table and electronic gaming machine bets for Solaire since opening in March 2013. Apart from the record volume of bets, a high VIP “hold” or “win” rate boosted gross gaming revenues by 40 percent year-on-year to P10.5 billion (US$224.64 million) for the quarter.
