PHILWEB Corp.’s net earnings reached P7 million for the fourth quarter of 2020, despite a decrease in per-site gaming revenues due to lockdown restrictions and health protocols implemented amid the pandemic.
“PhilWeb has been EBITDA positive since October 2020 and net income since November 2020 despite gaming venues generally averaging 60% daily revenues from pre-quarantine levels,” Edgar Brian K. Ng, president of PhilWeb, said in a statement on Monday.
Revenues for the quarter totaled P105 million, while the company generated an EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) of P30 million. No comparative figures from the same period in the previous year were disclosed.
For 2020, PhilWeb and its subsidiaries trimmed their net loss attributable to the parent company by 30% to P59.51 million. Total revenues declined by 50.9% to P264.88 million from P539.86 million.
The company and its subsidiaries incurred losses before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization worth P13.53 million, a reversal of its 2019 full-year EBITDA of P58.4 million.
The net loss of parent company PhilWeb ballooned to P542.47 million from P62.13 million the previous year.
However, Mr. Ng said: “The company is on stable ground and well positioned as we anticipate the return to economic activity in the second half of the year.”
“Our fourth-quarter 2020 results came before PhilWeb’s acquisition of 16 eBingo (electric bingo) venues and two accredited eBingo machine providers, as well as the revenue contribution of additional eGames sites incrementally converting back to our electronic gaming system at the start of 2021,” Mr. Ng said.
In March, the company said it acquired eBingo outlets and eBingo machine suppliers for P450 million and P280 million, respectively. The transaction was made to expand PhilWeb’s business, which now has a “two-fold footprint in the whole electronic gaming sector.”
Some 69 eGames (electronic games) outlets and 22 eBingo outlets of the company were said to be operational at the end of last year.
“As of today, there are 85 eGames locations utilizing PhilWeb’s electronic gaming system and 68 eBingo locations utilizing PhilWeb’s eBingo machines,” the company said.
PhilWeb is an accredited service provider of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. It recently secured approval to operate its remote gaming platform, which provides customers access to gaming products beyond its venues.
On Tuesday, PhilWeb shares at the exchange rose by 2.11% to close at P2.91 from P2.85 apiece. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte
