Bloomberry sees profits soar

By: Doris C. Dumlao - 10 years ago

Screengrab from www.bloomberry.ph

MANILA, Philippines–Bloomberry Resorts Corp., owner and operator of Pagcor Entertainment City’s pioneering integrated resort Solaire, chalked up P3.3 billion in net profit in the first nine months of the year—a sharp turnaround from the P868 million net loss it incurred in the same period last year.

In the third quarter alone, the gaming firm’s net profit grew by more than sixfold to P992 million on a double-digit rise in both gaming and nongaming revenues, the company reported Wednesday to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

“We are extremely pleased with the better-than-expected results as it speaks well of the tremendous efforts we have put in to turn around our operations without cutting down on our quality of service and amenities. We will most likely use the same formula for our Phase 1A extension, which will not only double the size of our property but will expand our menu of amenities,” Bloomberry chair and chief executive officer Enrique Razon Jr. said.

Phase 1A expansion, which will open to the public, by the end of November will add more nongaming amenities such as the all-suite Sky Tower hotel, a 1,760-seat Broadway-style theatre, a high-end retail area with a gross floor area of approximately 10,000 square meters; a night club, a karaoke bar, a cigar and whiskey bar, more meeting rooms; as well as additional gaming facilities.

Gross gaming and nongaming revenues in the first nine months hit P21.526 billion and P784 million, respectively. On a year-on-year basis, these grew by 132 percent and 53 percent, respectively, owing to substantial growth across its gaming and nongaming businesses.

Gaming continued to contribute the lion’s share of Bloomberry’s total gross revenues in the first nine months, accounting for 95.9 percent of the total, followed by hotel, food and beverage, as well as retail and others at 3.8 percent. The balance of 0.3 percent was taken up by interest income.

In the third quarter alone, gross gaming and nongaming revenues grew on a year-on-year basis by 58 percent to P7.673 billion and 14 percent to P232 million, respectively.

Stripped of promotional allowances, net gaming revenues in the first nine months grew by 113 percent year-on-year to P16.41 billion. In the third quarter, net gaming revenues grew by 44 percent year-on-year to P5.58 billion.

Apart from growing revenues during the nine-month period by 127 percent year-on-year to P22.439 billion, the company said “significant cost-containment measures have also driven the increase in profitability.”

Expenses for the nine-month period grew by a slower pace of 32 percent year-on-year.

Cash flow as measured by earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) in the first nine months surged to P6.946 billion from the P379 million generated in the same period last year. Ebitda for the third quarter reached P2.434 billion—three times larger than the P804 million level of the same period last year.

Originally posted at 5:31 pm | Wednesday, November 5, 2014