Pacific Online sees 2012 sales surge to P11B

MANILA, Philippines—Profit of publicly listed Pacific Online Systems Corp. grew by more than half in the July-September period due to record lotto sales and the expansion of the company’s terminal network.

The company expects profit to continue to surge up to the end of 2012 resulting in yet another banner year for the firm, the online lottery systems provider for state-run Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

“Pacific Online is on track to handle PCSO lottery sales of P11 billion for 2012, highest ever in the company’s history,” the company said Tuesday in its disclosure.

The company has been the systems provider of PCSO since 1996.

Pacific Online posted a net income of P281.2 million in the first three quarters of  the year, 58 percent above the previous year’s P178 million.

The company said this was “due to core revenue of about P1.2 billion, which increased by 16 percent from last year’s P1 billion, driven by strategic rollout of new terminals and record high lotto sales.”

Pacific Online said sales and revenue would continue to grow for the rest of the year as PCSO lottery games remained popular nationwide.

Aggregate nationwide sales of lotto and keno handled by Pacific Online hit P8.2 billion for the nine-month period to September—up 15 percent year on year.

Pacific Online now has 2,500 terminals selling various lottery games, operated by the PCSO. The company’s 75 percent-owned subsidiary, Total Gaming Technologies Inc., has more than 500 terminals.

In a statement last month, Pacific Online said it handled P8.2 billion worth of lottery transactions during the nine-month period.

“Consolidated full-year net income may hit P450 million,” said Rhederick Inciong of Pacific Online.—Paolo G. Montecillo