PHP1.58 billion (US.4 million)
Philippines-listed Belle Corp., which leases out land and buildings for City of Dreams Manila in the Entertainment City gaming zone, has posted a 54.8 percent increase in net income attributable to shareholders in the first three quarters of 2016.
According to GGRAsia, Belle also saw a share in earnings from City of Dreams Manila’s gaming operations via the company’s 78.7 percent-owned subsidiary Premium Leisure Corp.
The growth “was fueled primarily by growth in Belle’s share in the gaming income of City of Dreams Manila,” said the company in a filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange. “Premium Leisure Corp’s gaming income share for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 doubled to PHP1.1 billion, from PHP554 million for the comparable period in 2015. This was attributable to the ramp-up in gaming operations of City of Dreams Manila.”
Belle said it “realized higher revenues” from its lease of land and buildings for City of Dreams Manila, up 4 percent year-on-year to PHP1.64 billion for the nine-month period. In addition, Belle posted total revenues of PHP4.64 billion for the nine months to September 30, up by 17 percent.
Meanwhile, Belle announced it is about to terminate a revenue-sharing agreement with gaming investor Leisure Resorts World Corp. LRWC was originally tapped to run gaming operations at the Manila property through its subsidiary AB Leisure Global Inc. When Melco Crown Entertainment came in as operations partner, the integrated resort was named City of Dreams Manila.
On November 3, Belle signed a new deal with LRWC and AB Leisure that would enable the latter entity “to realize its interests under its existing agreement with the Belle group.” As part of the deal, Belle will pay the LRWC group PHP5.09 billion (US$104.9 million).
In a separate filing, LRWC said the proceeds from the new deal with Belle “are intended to be utilized by the LRWC group on its core businesses”. Subsidiaries of LRWC operate electronic bingo halls in the Philippines.
