Boracay closure continues to drag on BHI sales

Boulevard Holdings, Inc. (BHI) said its sales dropped by a third for the month of June, as it continued to take a hit from the closure of Boracay.
The listed firm said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Tuesday, July 31, that consolidated sales of products and services fell by 33% to P2.95 million last month, lower than the P4.39 million it recorded in the same period a year ago.
BHI is the parent of Friday’s Holdings, Inc., which is the owner and operator of Friday’s Boracay Beach Resort. The resort is one of the properties affected by the government’s order to close Boracay for six months starting April 26 to make way for its rehabilitation.
The company earlier said that the closure will lead to foregone revenues worth P6.5 million every month from April to October, in addition to P35 million set to be spent on fixed costs and expenses for the upkeep of the resort for six months.
It further lost P22 million in cancellations of advanced deposits from customers in China and Germany following the announcement of Boracay’s closure.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said it will officially reopen Boracay island by Oct. 26. The government however said a soft opening could be held as early as September, as soon as it addresses vital requirements such as the improvement of water quality in the island and its surrounding areas. — Arra B. Francia