DWC forks out P762M for subsidiaries
Luxury resort and hotel operator Discovery World Corp. (DWC) will inject P762.2 million into its subsidiaries to further develop its projects in Palawan, Surigao del Norte and Davao as the company takes advantage of booming local tourism.
In separate stock exchange disclosures on Tuesday, DWC said it would subscribe to additional shares in Cay Islands Corp. (CIC) for P430 million, One Davao Townships Corp. (ODTC) for P265 million, Balay Holdings Inc. (BHI) for P7.2 million, and Lucky Cloud 9 Resorts Inc. (LC9) for P60 million.
“The acquisition [of additional shares] will help augment working capital and create opportunities for expansion of the corporation’s resort business,” DWC said of its investments.
READ: Discovery World sheds crypto concern as losses shrink
CIC currently operates and owns Vanilla Beach and Shoppes at Vanilla Beach in El Nido, Palawan. It is slated to build another hotel and hostel project within the Vanilla Beach property, although DWC did not disclose additional details.
Meanwhile, ODTC is a holding company for properties being developed in Davao.
BHI owns properties in El Nido and San Vicente in Palawan, as well as Siargao in Surigao del Norte. According to DWC, these are being developed for staff housing for the group’s upcoming developments in these areas.
LC9 is also engaged in hotel operations, mainly through a 26,127-square-meter property it is developing in General Luna, Siargao.
This comes as DWC, which operates luxury hotel Discovery Shores on Boracay Island, moves to focus on its core hospitality business in hopes of finally erasing its losses that started piling up during the pandemic.
DWC widened its net loss in the first nine months of this year by 7.64 percent to P170.56 million due to a surge in expenses, particularly administrative costs.
The tourism and hospitality industry was among the hardest hit sectors during the pandemic, as strict health protocols restricted travel, resulting in losses for hotel operators.
DWC’s revenues in 2020 plunged by 73 percent to P259.7 million, resulting in losses ballooning to P540.03 million.
Losses gradually shrank—P163.44 million in 2021 to P74.26 million in 2022 and P49 million last year—as tourism restrictions eased. —Meg J. Adonis INQ
