Net profit of Philippine-listed leisure estate and gaming firm Belle Corp. surged by 37 percent in the first nine months of the year on the back of solid gaming revenue.
Belle announced in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange that its net profit attributable to the equity holders of the parent firm grew to PHP2.2 billion (US$42.88 million) thanks to the thriving integrated gaming resort City of Dreams Manila (COD Manila).
Willy Ocier, vice chairman of Belle, is optimistic that “the best is yet to come” even as the company’s third quarter net profit slid by 15 percent to PHP715.57 million ($13.95 million) from PHP841.82 million in the prior-year quarter. Total third-quarter revenue was PHP2.097 billion, compared to PHP1.598 billion a year earlier.
The company told investors that the lower third quarter profit was due to larger one-off gains from the sale of noncore investments last year alongside the surge in general and administrative expenses this year.
Excluding capital gains on sales of noncore investments, Belle reported that its recurring net income for the nine months of 2017 grew 64 percent to P2.5 billion.
Through its 78.7-percent owned subsidiary, Premium Leisure Corp. (PLC), Belle’s share in the gaming income of CoD Manila almost doubled to P2.16 billion for the January to September 2017 period.
PLC has an operating agreement with the Philippine affiliate of Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd. (Melco) that gives it half of gaming revenues at the gaming resort.
Last week, Nasdaq-listed casino operator Melco Resorts and Entertainment attributed its surprising US$1.38 billion third quarter revenue to the vibrant gaming segments in Macau and the Philippines.
City of Dreams Manila took in net revenue of $148.2 million during the July to September 2017 period, compared to $131.0 million a year ago, while adjusted EBITDA was $57.3 million compared to $45.0 million last year. The year-on-year earnings improvement was primarily due to increased gaming revenues.
