Weak VIP and higher costs has dragged Bloomberry’s second quarter net income down 61 per cent although the good news for the Philippine operator was that its Solaire Resort North recorded positive EBITDA in first 37 operating days.
Bloomberry, whose subsidiaries own and operate Solaire Resort Entertainment City, Solaire Resort North, and Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino generated Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) of P14.5bn, representing a decrease of four per cent from P15.1bn in the second quarter of 2023. The decline was due to continued weakness in the VIP segment. The decline was off-set by the combined mass table and Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM) revenues across Solaire Resort Entertainment City (SEC) and Solaire Resort North (SN) increased by three per cent year-over-year.
Solaire North reported positive EBITDA of P250.1m in its first 37 operating days
Enrique K. Razon Jr., Bloomberry Chairman and CEO, said: “In the second quarter and first half of 2024, our resilient mass gaming segment across two properties increased year-over-year despite the very high base set in the first half of 2023. However, continued weakness in the VIP segment as well as pre-operating and operating expenses at Solaire Resort North resulted in a decline in consolidated EBITDA and net income.”
“Despite our weaker consolidated year-over-year performance, I am pleased to report that Solaire Resort North recorded positive EBITDA of P250 million in its first 37 days of operations. We are in the early stages of the property’s ramp-up and are happy with the pace, especially as we compare it to the ramp-up of Solaire in Entertainment City over 11 years ago. As revenues at our second property grow, we anticipate further synergies and positive operating leverage to contribute to our group’s profitability in the coming quarters.”
While consolidated GGR was impacted by continued weakness in the VIP segment, the combined performance of mass table games and electronic gaming machines across two properties recorded growth of three per cent and six per cent in the second quarter and first half, respectively.
For the second quarter, total GGR at Solaire Resort was P13.3bn, representing a decline of 12 per cent from P15.1bn in the second quarter of 2023. GGR was negatively impacted by lower VIP rolling chip and mass table drop volumes, which was partly offset by strong growth in EGM coin-in and GGR.
Solaire North logged 37 operating days in the second quarter and recorded total GGR of P1.1bn from its mass table games and EGM businesses. Non-gaming revenue was P213m. Net revenue was P1.1bn while EBITDA was P250.1m. Pre-operating expenses amounted to P764.1m and P73.8m in the second quarter of 2024 and 2023, respectively. Solaire Korea’s Jeju Sun recorded gross gaming revenue of P35.7m in the second quarter, representing an increase of P31m from P4.7m in the same quarter last year.
