Bloomberry’s 2nd quarter earnings slump on losses from Jeju hotel

EARNINGS of Bloomberry Resorts Corp. slumped by 17% in the second quarter of 2018, as the company incurred losses from its operations in South Korea coupled with foreign exchange losses.

In a regulatory filing, the listed casino operator said net income attributable to the parent slipped to P1.64 billion in the April to June period, lower than the P1.97 billion it generated in the same period a year ago. This despite a 7.7% rise in revenues to P10.6 billion.

Bloomberry attributed the lower bottomline to the P513 million net loss incurred by Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino, as well as P387 million in foreign exchange losses. Profit from the Solaire Resort & Casino in Entertainment City was also flat at P2.129 billion.

The Razon-led company said expenses went up by 14% during the quarter, counting gaming taxes, employee related expenses, outside services and charges, and additional interest expense from its new syndicated loan which was used to pay off previous debt facilities and to acquire Solaire’s expansion area in Entertainment City from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Gross gaming revenue (GGR) from the Solaire’s VIP segment dropped by a fourth to P4.67 billion in the quarter, as VIP hold rate likewise went down by 2.49% versus 3.61% in the previous quarter.

Mass table drops accelerated by 21% to P10.98 billion, while electronic gaming machine (EGM) coin-in jumped 19% to P53.2 billion during the period. The mass gaming segment helped offset the slowdown in the VIP unit, allowing Solaire to post a one percent year-on-year increase in consolidated GGR to P12.387 billion.

Meanwhile, non-gaming revenues picked up 15% to P908.6 million due to higher hotel occupancy rates, more shows at the Theatre at Solaire, and additional retail outlets at The Shoppes.

On a six-month basis, Bloomberry’s attributable profit gained by a third to P5.33 billion, against the P4.11 billion it exhibited in the first half of 2017. This came on the back of a 20% uptick in revenues to P22 billion.

Consolidated GGR climbed by 14% to P26.13 billion during the first semester, while non-gaming revenues also rose by 9.4% to P1.72 billion.

Bloomberry noted in a statement that the first-half result is the highest six-month net profit ever recorded by the company.

“We continue to make progress towards establishing a solid enterprise. Our fundamentals remain strong, and we look forward to a busy second half and end 2018 with robust full year results,” Bloomberry Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Enrique K. Razon, Jr. was quoted as saying in a statement.

Shares in Bloomberry dropped 0.79% or eight centavos to close at P10.10 each at the stock exchange on Wednesday. —