BLOOMBERRY COUNTS ON P20B IN NEW CREDIT LINE TO FUEL GROWTH
Razon group-led integrated resort operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp. has braced for the possibility of the coronavirus pandemic dragging on for the rest of this year, keeping on hand about P20 billion in fresh credit line to cover capital outlays needed to fuel future growth.
“Our management team is focused on bringing revenue and profit levels back up in spite of the limitations, while remaining conscious of our cash preservation goals. For additional support, we successfully upsized one of our existing credit facilities to make available a P20 billion credit line that will help us outlive the pandemic,” Bloomberry chair Enrique Razon Jr. said during the company’s 2021 stockholders meeting on Thursday.
Prudence in cost management
Razon vowed that Bloomberry would maintain prudence in the management of its operating costs and balance sheet by accounting for the worst-case scenario.
“That is, we recognize the possibility of remaining in a prolonged pandemic situation for the rest of this year,” he said.
Ongoing efforts have given Bloomberry enough leeway to continue to work on key capital outlays at flagship Solaire as well as its second new hub in Quezon City.
“Work on Solaire North continues, but the pace has slowed since various health and safety measures have been set up to protect our workers. Despite tough construction conditions, we look forward to delivering a high-quality product by 2023, in time for a potential strong economic recovery that usually follows a crisis and the return of international travel and tourism,” Razon said.
“The road to recovery will be a rocky one, but the company will not waiver in its commitment to the world’s shared goal of putting a definitive end to this Let’s all do our part and make it happen,” he added.
The further easing of quarantine restrictions and the implementation of travel bubbles within the region are seen crucial to Bloomberry’s near-term recovery. However, these depend on the country achieving herd immunity against the virus through the inoculation of a critical mass of the population.
Role in vaccination program
“The government is working to obtain the necessary vaccines and making sure that these are transported efficiently, stored properly, and administered fairly and in a timely manner,” Razon said.
Bloomberry and ICTSI are spearheading in what is, to date, the largest combined national government, local government, and private sector vaccination procurement program for the Moderna vaccines, deliveries of which will begin in June this year.
“This effort will contribute to the full reopening of our economy and a significant recovery across all business sectors, including tourism and integrated resorts,” Razon said.
In 2020, Solaire was closed for six months and only reopened to very limited capacity in September. To date, it is still operating at 50 percent capacity.
“During the closure, we repandemic. tooled the entire property to be the safest and cleanest property possible. We deployed over P400 million to acquire and install stateof-the-art cleaning and disinfecting technologies that made us the hallmark of reopening leisure, entertainment and tourism facilities within the country,” Razon said.
“We integrated safety and flexibility into the working lives of our team members through regular RT-PCR testing in our own laboratory, the introduction of workfrom-home arrangements and the extension of financial assistance. We have gone above and beyond to make sure that our guests and employees feel safe and at home at Solaire,” he added.