PhilWeb profit surged by 45% in 2011

Listed gaming company PhilWeb Corp. posted hefty profit gains in 2011, driven by the continuing popularity of “e-games” cafes it operates for Philippine Amusement Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) and the expansion of operations overseas.

In its yearend report released this week, PhilWeb said it would continue to aggressively pursue the expansion of its business in other countries to meet the growing demand for gaming in the Asia Pacific region.

The company reported a profit of P914 million for the full year of 2011—up by 45 percent from a year earlier. PhilWeb said this represented a profit margin of 60 percent.

Philweb president Dennis Valdes attributed its performance to the “strong growth in its core e-Games Cafe business as well as its new businesses throughout the region.

“The real excitement in PhilWeb comes from our new endeavors in the Asia Pacific,” Valdes said. “These include The Sweeps Center, a cafe in Guam, and scratch cards businesses in Timor Leste and Cambodia. We are also hopeful to gain new licenses in other Asia Pacific countries this year.”

Valdes said the company’s profitability last year allowed it to issue cash dividends twice last year, with the amount double that of the year before.

He also noted that, last year, PhilWeb was named one of the biggest revenue contributors to state-run Pagcor, regulator of the country’s gaming sector.

PhilWeb remitted a total of P1.7 billion to the agency—34 percent more than in 2010. This amount comes without a single centavo of capital expenditure or operating expense on Pagcor’s part.