Belle profit drops 31%

Belle Corp., the high-end property development arm of the Sy family, reported a 31 percent drop in net income in the first quarter due to the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic as well as the eruption of Taal Volcano.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Belle said consolidated net income during the period dropped to P577 million from P835 million in the first three months of 2019.

Consolidated revenues also plunged 25 percent to P1.42 billion from P1.89 billion in the first quarter of last year.

The company attributed the declines primarily to COVID-19 related developments.

“The effects of the pandemic began with declining tourist arrivals prior to the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine nationwide and was compounded by the temporary suspension of gaming operations at City of Dreams Manila on March 16, 2020 in compliance with government initiatives to contain the virus,”Belle said.

The firm’s share in the gaming revenues at City of Dreams Manila, which is its primary growth driver, dropped 39 percent in the first quarter to P445 million from P725 million in the first three months of 2019.

“City of Dreams Manila is using this time to prioritize the health of its employees, to establish protocols that ensure a safe working and recreational environment and to support the government in keeping people safe and restarting the economy,” the company said.

Meanwhile, Belle’s real estate operations also recorded an eight percent decrease in revenues during the period to P754 million from P822 million in the first quarter of 2019.

“Of real estate revenues in 2020, P668 million came from Belle’s lease of the land and buildings comprising City of Dreams Manila to Melco Resorts and Entertainment (Philippines) Corp., which was essentially unchanged from 2019,”the company said.

In addition, Belle’s real estate sales and property management activities at its Tagaytay Highlands complex which were affected by the Taal Volcano eruption in January contributed P86 million in the period, 44 percent lower than in 2019.

“Despite this challenging business environment, and in keeping with its efforts to consistently declare regular annual dividends, Belle fulfilled the payment of its regular cash dividend to its common shareholders in 2020 in the amount of 12 centavos per share, or approximately P1.2 billion in total,”the company said, adding that this was at par with its previous regular cash dividend paid in 2019.