Profit taking lifts Razon-led Bloomberry Resorts share price

BLOOMBERRY RESORTS Corp. was the twelfth most actively traded stock last week as investors took profit and expressed optimism ahead of the opening of a new property in the country.

A total of P654.56 million worth of 60.45 million shares exchanged hands at the local bourse from Jan. 22 to 26, according to data from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

The Razon-led leading integrated resort developer and operator’s shares finished at P10.98 apiece on Friday, marking an 8.7% increase week on week. Year to date, the stock’s price has risen by 11.6%.

“While there appears to be no material news flows on Bloomberry last week, we think the stock’s positive price action can be partly attributed to strong foreign interest, as net foreign buying this week amounted to P269 million,” Rastine Mackie D. Mercado, China Bank Securities Corp. research director, said in an e-mail.

Mr. Mercado also said that investors’ optimism ahead of the opening of its new property, Solaire Resort North, within the first half of this year added to the stock’s active trading.

Bloomberry saw net foreign buying in four out of five trading sessions last week, with net foreign buying of shares amounting to P269.32 million from Jan. 22 to 26, according to PSE market data.

In a separate report, Bloomberry said that Solaire Resort North in Quezon City is set for completion by March, marking its second casino resort in the Philippines. The company anticipates that the opening of the property will strengthen its market position in the country.

Construction of the casino was interrupted in March 2020 due to coronavirus disease-related lockdowns, causing delays in the delivery of materials needed for the property.

Apart from Solaire Resort North, Bloomberry’s other properties include Solaire Resort Entertainment City in Parañaque City and Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino in Korea.

“Overall market sentiment help rally Bloomberry. Investors are also anticipating the opening of Solaire Resort North this coming March 2024 that would help push revenue upwards for Bloomberry,” Jeff Radley C. See, an analyst at Mercantile Securities Corp., said in a Viber message.

“We think that Bloomberry might hit P50 billion for the end of 2023,” Mr. See added.

For the first nine months of 2023, Bloomberry recorded a 106% jump in consolidated net income to P8.27 billion, and consolidated net revenue surged 32.4% to P36.11 billion. —