Travellers’ 6-month net income down 50%

Integrated gaming resort developer and operator Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. saw a 50-percent year-on-year drop in first semester attributable net profit to P844.71 million due to a spike in finance costs and other operating expenses.

For the second quarter alone, the net income of Travellers—owner and operator of Resorts World Manila—declined by 52 percent year-on-year to some P600 million due to higher finance charges and increase in depreciation expense.

Its gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the first half rose by 50.3 percent year-on-year to P13.53 billion. In the second quarter, GGR was up by 47 percent year-on-year to P6.64 billion.

Betting volume rose to P263.32 billion in the first semester from P170.65 billion a year ago. Blended win rate for the first half, however, was lower at 5.1 percent compared to 5.3 percent for the same period of 2018.

Direct costs rose by 37.5 percent year-on-year to P7.1 billion for the six-month period. This was due to the increase in gaming license fees, higher casino operating expenses and higher hotel operating expenses.

Finance costs surged to P982.5 million from only P43.9 million a year ago, mainly due to additional drawdown from the company’s loan facility and higher interest rates in 2019.

On the nongaming business, occupancy rate for its five hotels was 78 percent.