Bloomberry losses narrow to ₧1.9B in January-june
BLOOMBERRY Resorts Corp., the operator of Solaire resort and Casino, on Tuesday said its losses narrowed to P1.9 billion in the first half from last year’s P3.3 billion, despite minimal gambling activities due to the government’s quarantine measures.
Consolidated gross gaming revenues reached P12.6 billion, 3 percent lower than the P13 billion recorded last year.
Net revenues, meanwhile, came in at P10.3 billion, a decrease of 1 percent as against P10.4 billion in the same period a year ago.
“Bloomberry generated respectable results during the quarter despite having virtually no gaming operations between April and midmay. Consolidated EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization], reached P1 billion in the second quarter as we benefitted from high hold rates at Solaire and realized savings from our continuous group-wide cost optimization efforts,” Enrique K. Razon Jr., the company’s chairman and CEO, said.
“As the pandemic continues to evolve, we hope to see more of our countrymen get vaccinated and build the much-needed immunity against the virus. Solaire is doing its part through the Solaire-ictsi Vaccination Center which has so far administered close to 32,000 shots since it opened last June 28, 2021. I am pleased to report that all rostered team members at Solaire have received both doses of the vaccine and will be considered fully protected by mid-august.
Also, first dose vaccinations for our employees’ dependents began last month.”
Consolidated net loss for the second quarter alone was at P1.2 billion, a P3.5-billion improvement from the net loss of P4.7 billion recorded a year ago.
Solaire’s total gaming revenues for the period reached P5.7 billion, 18 percent lower than the P6.9 billion posted in the previous quarter, when Solaire had limited capacity operations for 88 days. Year-over-year, gaming revenues were higher by P5 billion since Solaire had minimal gaming activity for the whole second quarter of 2020.
Consolidated net revenue amounted to P4.7 billion, representing a P3.8-billion increase from last year’s P940.9 million.
Metro Manila was placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from March 29 to April 11, then to a modified ECQ from April 12 to May 14. The classification was further eased to general community quarantine from May 15 to June 30.
Solaire had no gaming operations in the first 44 days of the second quarter and was closed to the public. Between May 15 and June 30, Solaire reopened and utilized its invite-only policy while the casino operated at a capacity consistent with a limited dry-run as allowed by the regulators.
Solaire began rolling out its vaccination program for its employees in the last week of June.
To date, all who are rostered for day-to-day operations have been fully vaccinated, while dependents are being scheduled for their initial dose.
Solaire, together with the corporate foundation of its sister company International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) procured Moderna vaccines for its employees as well as five of their dependents and were given for free.
The Solaire-ictsi Foundation Inc. Vaccination Center in Solaire, served as the venue for the vaccination program for employees. Selected areas of The Theatre at Solaire were converted to accommodate a robust vaccination process that supports both drive-thru and on-site appointments.
The vaccine program made use of mobile technology developed by Zuellig Pharma, utilizing QR codes embedded with the employee information for a quick, efficient and safe vaccine administration.