The Philippine Star

Bloomberry opens QC casino in May

- By RICHMOND MERCURIO

Integrated casino resorts operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp. is poised to open its Quezon City casino in May, boosting the company’s hopes for a sustained growth this year following a strong performanc­e in 2023.

Bloomberry chairman and CEO Enrique Razon said constructi­on is almost complete for Solaire Resort North, making the new casino ready to be launched in late May this year.

“We have high hopes for 2024, especially as we open our second integrated resort in the thriving metropolis of Quezon City. The constructi­on of Solaire Resort North is almost complete, and we plan to launch late in May of this year. Solaire Resort North will massively enhance our luxury gaming and entertainm­ent portfolio and solidify our standing as the leading integrated resort developer and operator in the Philippine­s,” Razon said.

Bloomberry, whose subsidiari­es own and operate Solaire Resort Entertainm­ent City in Parañaque and Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino in Korea, reported a net profit of P9.5 billion last year, an 85 percent surge year-onyear driven by a robust mass market.

After removing the impact of a P201.7-million one-time net gain from the dispositio­n of assets in 2023, Bloomberry said consolidat­ed net income would have increased by 81percent.

Fourth quarter net income stood at P1.3 billion, up 11 percent yearon-year.

Full year net revenue climbed by 24 percent to P48.4 billion from P38.9 billion in the previous year.

The company’s financial and operating results for 2023, “reflect a resilient Philippine economy amid a challengin­g global economic landscape,” Razon said.

“Driven by a strong domestic market, our annual EBITDA and net profit grew by 35 percent and 85 percent year-over-year, respective­ly,” he also said.

Mass table games, electronic gaming machines and nongaming segments performed strongly as revenues in these areas breached 2019 pre-pandemic levels by a significan­t margin, the company also reported.

Solaire’s VIP rolling chip volume, mass table drop and slot coin-in saw double digit growth as all segments benefited from strong domestic demand and further improvemen­ts in internatio­nal visitation.

Gross gaming revenue at Solaire went up by 16 percent to P58.3 billion, while Jeju Sun recorded gross gaming revenue of P31 million. Gaming revenue in 2023 was a reversal from a loss of P8.5 million covering the Oct. 3 to Dec. 31, 2022 period.

Bloomberry’s non-gaming revenues, meanwhile, rose by 30 percent to P8.7 billion for 2023 from the P6.7 billion generated in the previous year.

At Solaire, non-gaming revenue for the year was P8.3 billion, representi­ng an increase of 25 percent from 2022 while at Solaire Korea, non-gaming revenue in 2023 increased to P357.3 million from P48.7 million in 2022.

The company’s financial and operating results for 2023, “reflect a resilient Philippine economy amid a challengin­g global economic landscape,” Razon said.

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