PH Resorts Group losses ballooned in H1

Davao-based businessman Dennis A. Uy’s PH Resorts Group Holdings saw losses swell in the first semester of 2022 as it continued developing its Emerald Bay Resort Hotel and Casino in Cebu.

From January to June, losses ballooned by about 90 percent to P333.1 million, its quarterly report showed.

The bulk came from a more than 330-percent jump in foreign exchange losses to P191.65 million, as the weakening Philippine peso made its US dollar-denominated debts more costly.

The company continued to suffer from the impact of the pandemic, despite the steady recovery in the broader hotel sector due to more relaxed COVID-19 restrictions.

It recorded no revenue in the first semester as its due to the closure of the Donatela Resort & Sanctuary in Bohol.

“With the continuing resumption of both domestic and international flights and the general reopening of the economy, the company is pursuing plans to reopen Donatela by the start of the fourth quarter of the year,” it said in its quarterly reported.

Its liabilities had exceeded assets by P10.66 billion during the period.

PH Resorts management warned in the report such conditions indicated a “material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

Last May, billionaire Enrique Razon Jr.’s Bloomberry Resorts Corp. said it would invest in PH Resorts’ casino developments, including the Emerald Bay project.

Bloomberry would also invest in The Base Resort Hotel and Casino in Clark in Pampanga.

Emerald Bay will be fully opened by 2026, based on information on PH Resorts’ website. It was being marketed to offer a luxury leisure experience that would rival casino developments in Manila and Macau.