Bloomberry Resorts Sees Q1 Profit Dip Amidst Solaire North Anticipation

Bloomberry Resorts, the corporation responsible for the Philippines’ Solaire Resort and Casino and Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino, experienced a decline in profits during the initial quarter of 2024. Their reported net earnings were approximately $44 million, reflecting an 11% reduction compared to the corresponding period in the preceding year.

Enrique Razon Jr., the company’s chairman and CEO, ascribed this decrease to diminished earnings in both VIP and mass-market table games. Nevertheless, he emphasized that the company’s performance is not as unfavorable as it appears. When excluding the nearly $50 million in pre-opening expenditures for the forthcoming Solaire Resort North, net income only exhibited a marginal 3% decrease.

Furthermore, there’s encouraging news: although table games faced challenges, slot machines flourished, generating a 24% surge in revenue compared to the previous year. This upswing in local demand is a positive indicator for the new Solaire Resort North, slated to commence operations on May 25th. This new establishment is strategically designed to prioritize slot machines and augment mass-market table game offerings, signaling Bloomberry’s ambitious expansion strategies.

Examining Solaire’s performance specifically, VIP gambling turnover experienced a significant drop of 36%, reaching 10.69 billion Philippine pesos. Mass-market table games also witnessed an 8% revenue reduction. Conversely, electronic gaming machines demonstrated a 17% rise in coin-in. In aggregate, Solaire’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) underwent an 8% decline.

Although slot machine income remained robust, diminished returns from high-roller and general gaming tables resulted in Bloomberry Resorts Corp achieving a first-quarter gross gaming revenue of PHP 8 billion.

This signifies a 5% reduction compared to the same period last year, but a 7% rise from the preceding quarter. The corporation, managing Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila and Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino in South Korea, experienced a 3% year-over-year decline in net income for the quarter, settling at PHP 12.5 billion.

Nevertheless, this also constitutes a 5% improvement over the final quarter of 2023. Jeju Sun witnessed its gross gaming revenue climb to PHP 15.6 million, a significant leap from PHP 1.2 million the prior quarter.

Bloomberry’s revenue streams outside of gaming saw a marginal uptick, reaching PHP 2.2 billion, marking a 4% year-on-year growth. This was primarily fueled by a 2% expansion in non-gaming revenue at Solaire, which hit PHP 2.1 billion.

Operational costs escalated by 5% year-on-year, totaling PHP 7.6 billion, attributed to elevated salary and administrative expenditures. The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) contracted by 14% year-on-year to PHP 4.9 billion.

Discounting pre-opening expenditures, EBITDA stood at PHP 5.2 billion, reflecting a 10% year-on-year decrease. Earnings per share dipped to PHP 0.231 from PHP 0.276 in the corresponding period last year.

As of March 31, 2024, Bloomberry declared a consolidated cash holding of PHP 45.9 billion and an aggregate outstanding long-term debt of PHP 101.1 billion.