Bloomberry Resorts Corp. (Bloomberry) posted an attributable net income growth of 38% in 2019, driven by the robust growth of its gaming segment.
In a regulatory filing disclosed to the stock exchange yesterday, the Razon-led operator of Solaire Resort & Casino said its attributable net income last year stood at P9.96 billion, backed by a 21% rise in consolidated revenues to P46.34 billion.
The gaming segment made up P38.47 billion of the revenues to increase 22% from the figure in 2018. Hotel, food and beverage added P4.3 billion for a 14% increase year-on-year, while retail and others contributed P3.56 billion for a growth of 25%.
Breaking down its gaming business, Bloomberry said its total gross gaming revenues at Solaire grew 17% to P59.8 billion, driven by higher hold in VIP and strength in the mass gaming segments.
While VIP volume slipped 5% last year, gross gaming revenues from this segment still managed to rise 20% to P26.2 billion as VIP win rate improved to 3.4% from 2.69% in 2018.
Revenues from mass tables advanced 10% to P16.7 billion, and from electronic gaming machine (EGM) coin-ins by 21% to P16.8 billion, which the company attributed to higher domestic and international discretionary spending.
Solaire Korea’s Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino also contributed P573.1 million in gaming revenues last year, up 18% from a year ago.
For its non-gaming business, Bloomberry posted a 21% growth in revenues to P8.2 billion, where Solaire accounted for P8 billion despite a decline in hotel occupancy to 90.5% from 92.6% in 2018. Jeju Sun in Korea added P129 million, slumping 41% from a year ago due to renovation works at the hotel.
“I am pleased to report another record year of profits for Bloomberry… Despite increasing competitive pressure, Solaire maintained its market-leading position and has again proven itself as the premier integrated resort of the Philippines,” Bloomberry Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Enrique K. Razon, Jr. said in a statement.
But he noted 2020 would be a more challenging year for the company as the global tourism industry is threatened by the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak.
“We are off to a rough start in 2020 as we contend with the tourism impact of an official world health emergency. However, we remain steadfast and aim to demonstrate our resilience by working towards another year of operating excellence,” Mr. Razon said.
“We continue to focus on our next leg of growth as work on Solaire North progresses smoothly. We are on track to complete the project in the second half of 2023,” he added.
Bloomberry is building the 40-storey Solaire North on a 1.5-hectare land within Vertis North, Quezon City. This is seen to cater to markets from north of Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga.
Shares in Bloomberry at the stock exchange fell 37 centavos or 4.63% to P7.63 each on Wednesday. — Denise A. Valdez
