Tycoon Kevin Tan is in no hurry to invite a strategic partner in the group’s sprawling integrated hotel and casino Newport World Resorts after taking full control of the project following the collapse of Genting Hong Kong.
“We’re happy running it ourselves. It’s much better, it’s easier and you have more flexibility,” Tan, the CEO of conglomerate Alliance Global Group (AGI), said in a recent chance interview.
Newport World Resorts was the first integrated hotel resort and casino in Metro Manila when it opened in 2009. It was rebranded from Resorts World Manila earlier this year after AGI sealed an agreement to buy out joint venture partner Genting in their gaming subsidiary, Travellers International Hotel Group.
Genting Hong Kong, the cruise ship giant controlled by Genting Group patriarch Lim Kok Thay of Malaysia, filed for bankruptcy last year.
Asked about plans to take on another partner, Tan said it was better for them to go solo in the business.
“I prefer it,” he told reporters.
The comments came amid the strong rebound in the company’s gaming segment, which was a drag on earnings during the COVID-19 pandemic amid strict lockdown measures.
In the first nine months of 2023, Travellers recorded a net income of P773 million, reversing losses of P235 million during the same period last year.
Its core revenues also jumped 21 percent to a record high of P23.3 billion, the group’s latest financial statement showed. Tan said 2023 would be a “record year” as the company’s other businesses sustained their growth momentum.
AGI profits at end-September climbed 9 percent to P12.9 billion while total revenues grew 17 percent to P150.4 billion. During this period, net income at property arm Megaworld Corp. soared 43 percent to P12 billion while revenues expanded by 14 percent to P48.6 billion. Liquor giant Emperador Inc. saw earnings slow to P6.8 billion while revenues increased 10 percent to P47.1 billion. Golden Arches Development, the operator of McDonald’s Philippines, saw profits also during the period surge 44 percent to P1.47 billion while total sales grew 28 percent to P30.7 billion.