Enrique Razon’s casino arm beats prepandemic earnings

MANILA  -Robust gaming revenues pushed up profits at tycoon Enrique Razon Jr.’s Bloomberry Resorts Corp. by 338 percent to P3 billion during the first quarter.

Bloomberry is the operator of Solaire Resort integrated hotel and casino along Manila Bay and Jeju Sun in South Korea.

Net income in the first three months of the year also exceeded by 36 percent the prepandemic earnings during the first quarter of 2019.

Bloomberry said its January to March performance was driven by gross gaming revenues of P16 billion, up 80 percent.

“During the first quarter of 2023, Bloomberry delivered an outstanding set of results. Solaire’s VIP, mass tables and slots segments all posted substantial gains as gaming volumes expanded,” Razon, chair and CEO of Bloomberry, said in a statement on Wednesday.

“We remain optimistic about continued growth as the recovery of international travel progresses and further augments domestic spending in our VIP and mass gaming segments, as well as in our hotel, food and beverage and retail businesses,” he added.

Gains were supported by “strong domestic demand and an increasing participation of international patrons.”

VIP and mass table revenues expanded by 142 percent and 27 percent to P6.4 billion and P4.9 billion, respectively. Slot coin volumes climbed 95 percent to P4.8 billion.

Solaire Korea’s Jeju Sun, which reopened casino operations last October, recorded gross gaming revenue of P1.2 million in the first quarter.

Bloomberry said nongaming revenues from hotel, food and beverage and retail grew 127 percent to P2.1 billion during the period. INQ