By Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINE Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) saw its net income surge more than 10 times in the first six months of the year due to a one-time gain from the sale of its land in Entertainment City in June.
In the first semester, PAGCOR’s income surged over a tenfold to P35.79 billion from P3.06 billion in the same period a year ago and more than met its P1.39-billion target.
PAGCOR President and Chief Operating Operating Officer Alfredo C. Lim said this was due to its sale of the 16-hectare parcel of land in Entertainment City worth P37.3 billion to Bloomberry Resorts Corp. for resort expansion projects.
“Because of the sale of the property and the increase in revenue in our license fees and casino operations. We’re exceeding the target,” he told reporters in a mix of Filipino and English yesterday on the sidelines of the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s 114th Anniversary celebration at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila.
“In [the] Bloomberry [deal], we made a lot of money there because we bought that for so much only and yet we were able to sell it at P37 billion, plus the expenses were shouldered by the buyer,” he added.
PAGCOR’s gross gaming revenues totalled P33.45 billion in the first half, up 18.3% from the P28.27 billion recorded in the same period in 2017 and 9.87% above the P30.44-billion target.
“We were able to create a niche of our own customers,” he said.
The casino operator said it remitted half of its gross gaming revenues or P15.86 billion to the Bureau of the Treasury.
Aside from its casinos, PAGCOR earns income from shares and license fees from licensed casinos and offshore gaming operations, as well as rental, entertainment, and interest income.
Meanwhile, Mr. Lim said he is pessimistic about the plan to privatize PAGCOR’s casinos.
“I think it’s not going to happen,” said Mr. Lim.
He said this is because its revenues from casinos are performing above target.
“To me, when it comes to privatization, I don’t think it will happen. Because first, our casinos are making money, why privatize?” Mr. Lim said, while noting there are still no directions from the Finance department on the plan.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III earlier said he wants PAGCOR casinos to be privatize to eliminate the conflict in its being a casino regulator and operator at the same time.
