Gaming drives Belle profit to all-time high

Belle Corp. the high-end property developer of the Sy group, reported a record high income of P3.5 billion and revenues of P8 billion last year on strong gaming revenues.

In a disclosure yesterday, Belle said net income rose 13 percent, while revenues grew 27 percent.

Excluding capital gains on sales of non-core investments and extraordinary items, Belle’s recurring net income of P3.3 billion was 58 percent higher than the previous year.

“This record performance was driven primarily by growth in gaming revenues,” Belle said.

Through its subsidiary Premium Leisure Corp. (PLC), Belle reported a 59 percent increase in its share of gaming earnings from City of Dreams Manila, rising to P 2.6 billion from P1.6 billion a year earlier.

Belle’s principal asset is City of Dreams Manila, which it leased out to Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd.’s on a long-term basis. Aside from lease income, it also has a share in gaming revenues.

The company’s real estate business also contributed to its banner year with P3.1 billion in revenues, up 10 percent.

Of this, P2.3 billion came from Belle’s lease to Melco Resorts of the land and buildings comprising City of Dreams Manila, while P823 million was from real estate sales and property management activities at Tagaytay Highlands and Tagaytay Midlands residential and leisure complexes.

The strong 2017 results enabled Belle to declare a regular dividend of P0.12 per share for a total dividend payment of approximately P1.3 billion.

Belle owns significant real estate assets and develops premium residential resort projects around Tagaytay City. Among its exclusive destinations are the club and golf facilities and residential communities of Tagaytay Highlands and Tagaytay Midlands and 800 hectares of property intended for future development.