Pagcor marks record 2-year performance

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. has so far reported P73 billion in gross revenue, of which over P35 billion has been remitted to the government for its development programs over the last two years.

In a statement, the state-run gaming agency said that the sharp increase in its income was a result of “sound fiscal management” that allowed more funds to be allotted for various government projects.

“Our performance during the last 24 months of the Aquino administration is a testament to the fact that our resolve to institute and implement operational reforms is working so well,” Pagcor chair and CEO Cristino Naguiat Jr. said.

He pointed out that, under his term so far, Pagcor marked the sharpest year-on-year revenue growth in its history.

“In 2011, we generated an increase of P5.19 billion in our total income compared to 2010 (to P36.65 billion from P31.46 billion),” Naguiat said. “During the first semester of 2012 alone, our gross revenue already exceeded the amount we earned for the same period last year by P4 billion (P21.32 billion versus P17.22 billion).”

This P9-billion increase in total revenue was attained by the present management in just 18 months—a feat which took the previous Pagcor managements up to 10 years to achieve.

Naguiat said that the latest period ended with another sharp spike in June 2012 where the agency earned a total income of P3.88 billion.

“This is our [latest] revenue record for a single month since July 2010—the 12th under our administration,” he said.

According to the Pagcor chief, the agency was already experiencing a downtrend in its winnings before the current administration assumed office.

“In fact, the corporation’s 2008 winnings of P23.28 billion went down to P23.21 billion in 2009, he pointed out. “During the first half of 2010, Pagcor’s winnings were down by P809 million compared to the same period of 2009. When we took over Pagcor in July 2010, we immediately instituted reforms to arrest the income decline.”

He also said the current management inherited bank loans made by Pagcor’s previous administration—P1.67 billion of which were immediately retired ahead of their 2014 maturity.

“This saved us a total of P92.95 million in loan interests,” Naguiat said.

Apart from the advance loan settlement, the current Pagcor management was also able to pay the Bureau of Internal Revenue about P857 million in December 2011.

The Pagcor chief expressed confidence that the agency would breach the P40-billion mark in terms of gross revenue by the end of the year.