Bloomberry nears prepandemic earnings with 2023 profit at P9.5B
MANILA, Philippines — Enrique Razon Jr.’s Bloomberry Resorts Corp. reported a profit of P9.5 billion last year—closing in on its pre-pandemic earnings of P9.9 billion—thanks to robust contributions from gaming and non-gaming ventures.
The operator of casino-hotel Solaire Resort Entertainment City along Manila Bay said earnings were up 25 percent in 2023 over the previous year, buoyed by a thriving mass segment despite inflationary pressures during the period.
Razon, the chair and CEO of Bloomberry, said gains reflected “a resilient Philippine economy amid a challenging global economic landscape”.
READ: Domestic players to continue driving Bloomberry’s growth in 2023, says Razon
The company is betting on even better fortunes this year with the opening of its Quezon City casino—its second integrated gaming center in Metro Manila.
“We have high hopes for 2024, especially as we open our second integrated resort in the thriving metropolis of Quezon City,” Razon said.
Solaire Resort North
“The construction of Solaire Resort North is almost complete, and we plan to launch late in May of this year. Solaire Resort North will massively enhance our luxury gaming and entertainment portfolio and solidify our standing as the leading integrated resort developer and operator in the Philippines,” he added.
READ: BIZ BUZZ: Solaire North opening countdown
During the past year, Bloomberry booked gross gaming revenues of P58.3 billion, higher by 16 percent compared to 2022.
It said gaming revenues also recovered 97 percent of the prepandemic level “driven by the domestic-focused mass tables and electronic gaming machines segments, which on a combined basis have reached 116 percent of pre-pandemic levels”.
Meanwhile, non-gaming revenues exceeded the prepandemic level at P8.7 billion last year versus P8.2 billion in 2019. This included contributions from its Jeju Sun casino-hotel in South Korea.
Cash operating expenses amounted to 29 billion, up 18 percent. Bloomberry said this was due to higher gaming taxes, salaries and benefits, and cost of sales which are consistent with the improved level of business activity at Solaire.
New project in Cavite
Bloomberry is also preparing for future expansion through the development of an integrated resort, casino, golf course, commercial and residential mixed-use hub in Ternate, Cavite.
READ: Razon’s Bloomberry to build Cavite casino, leisure hub
Signed in 2022, the P7.6-billion land purchase deal from the Panlilio family’s Boulevard Holdings and other entities is being completed in phases. Bloomberry has so far purchased 1.8 million square meters or 64 percent of the full amount as of end-2023.
“While the timeline is yet to be finalized, the development of the Paniman project is expected to commence after Solaire Resort North in Vertis North, Quezon City has started its commercial operations,” Bloomberry said in its 2023 annual report.
