The Philippines-based casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp enjoyed record gambling turnover at its Manila casino in the third quarter of 2016. Bloomberry operates the Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila and the Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino in South Korea and it reported a net profit of P1.41b (US$28.7m) in the three months ending September 30.
Solaire was the first casino which opened its door in March 2013 in Manila’s Entertainment City which is a new gaming and entertainment zone supervised by state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR). A few months later Solaire decided to expand its base and opened its first poker room in December 2013.
The group has done a significant turnaround of its revenue from a P187m loss in the same period last year. Now overall revenue net of promotional allowances was up 11% to P7.83b while earnings rose 7% to P2.58b. Earlier Solaire had reported a 6% fall in their gaming revenue to P9.85b, which was primarily due to an unfavorable VIP win rate at their casinos. But then VIP turnover was up 61% year on year, mass table drop rose 10% and then electronic gaming machine coin-in rose 16% thus producing volume totals that set three new property records for the group.
Then Bloombery’s ongoing boost to ramp up its junket relationships offered a VIP surge and thus leads to a 24% rise in gaming promoter’s expenses. Thus at the end of Q3, Bloomberry had P6.76b in gross receivables which was 18% higher than at the end of Q2. With these figures Solaire was in a much better position as the receivables over 90 days were up only 3% and the quarterly provision for doubtful accounts totaled to mere P17m. Even Bloomberry kept a strong hold on their expenses during the Q3 and maintained a flat expense profile which resulted in better financial figures.
In South Korea, Bloomberry inked a deal in June to sell Jeju Sun to Macau junket operator Iao Kun Group Holdings (IKGH) and after signing this deal Bloomberry “deliberately concentrated on reducing expenses rather than increasing VIP volume to minimize volatility.”
Bloomberry CEO Enrique Razon Jr. said:”the company’s one-mindedness to manage costs and capital” would ensure the company’s upward trajectory through the end of 2016. Razon expressed confidence that the party would continue into 2017 and Solaire would become “the premium go-to Philippine destination.”
