Casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp. is confident of a continued post-pandemic recovery.
Enrique Razon Jr., Bloomberry president, told shareholders yesterday the company is back to its pre-new coronavirus 2019 ) trend with the mass gaming segment is “primed to set new highs in 2023.”
Bloomberry operates the integrated casino complex Solaire Resort and Casino in the Paranaque Bay area. It also operates a hotel in Korea.
Razon said Solaire’s mass gaming operation will continue to contribute the lion’s share of Bloomberry’s revenues.
“We anticipate that this segment will grow steadily on the back of sustained expansion of the local economy, which is forecasted to grow between six and 7 percent this year,” he said.
“Outside of gaming, we’re ready to accommodate more domestic and international patrons in our premier hotel, world-class restaurants and opulent offerings. We aim to maintain Solaire as the paramount entertainment leisure destination in the Philippines by ramping up the number and quality of shows at the theater and opening exciting new luxury retail offerings in the shops,” he said.
Bloomberry closed 2022 with a profit of P5.1 billion, reversing the P4.2 billion loss the prior year. Revenue reached P38.9 billion, up 77 percent from P22 billion the previous year, with gross gaming revenue at P50.1 billion, up 81 percent from P27.6 billion in 2021. Non-gaming revenues were at P6.7 billion, up from P3.3 billion.
Razon noted a strong consumption-fueled recovery propelled nationwide gross gaming revenues to P214 billion, an 89 percent increase from the prior year, and the fastest among all gaming jurisdictions globally.
“At Bloomberry, we experienced a stronger than anticipated recovery in our gaming hotel, food and beverage, and retail businesses. Our revenues and cash flow surged along with EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and pushed our bottom line into positive territory after two consecutive years of losses. Our return to profitability was powered by an invigorated domestic market and gradually returning to national patron base,” he said.
Razon said Bloomberry’s Quezon City casino, Solaire North, is still slated for opening by the first quarter of next year, after a series of rescheduling due to construction hiccups.
“The pandemic has resulted in supply bottlenecks that of course (caused) delays in the delivery of key components for the property,” Razon said.
Razon said the construction of Bloomberry’s planned Ternate, Cavite casino will hinge upon the successful opening of Solaire North.
“But any plans … that we have for this area will come after we have opened Solaire North in Quezon City and have ramped up the property. Right now, we’re still going through concepts, design ideas, but there are no yet firm plans on when and how we will launch this,” he said.
