Philippines real estate firm Belle Corp., which owns a share in City of Dreams Manila and also leases the land under it to Melco Resorts and Entertainment (Philippines), has reported an 11 percent decline in consolidated revenues to PHP 5.77 billion (US$113 million) for the nine months that ended on September 30. It blamed the decline on increased lottery competition and the temporary closure of all Philippines lottery outlets in July.
The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) was ordered shut down in July by President Rodrigo Duterte due to alleged widespread corruption inside the organization. But the ban was partially lifted a week later.
Belle Corp. revealed that while it “continued to experience growth at City of Dreams Manila,” located in Entertainment City in the capital, its overall operating performance had been affected by weaker results from Pacific Online Systems Corp., which leases online betting equipment to the government-owned PSCO for their lottery and keno operations. Pacific Online is 50.1 percent-owned by Premium Leisure Corp., a Belle Corp. subsidiary.
Belle Corp said that Pacific Online posted a 51 percent decrease in revenues for the first nine months of 2019 to Php766 million due to competition from the Small Town Lottery and the temporary suspension of lottery and keno operations by the PCSO during 3Q19.
In an October update, Belle Corp. said, “With the suspensions since lifted, Pacific Online is working closely with the PCSO and its network of agents to boost the attractiveness of the pari-mutuel games it offers, and is working to implement cost efficiency measures across its operations.”
In related news, Philippine casino resort Okada Manila, also part of Entertainment City, has a VIP business that has “independence from any Macau VIP operations,” according to John DeCree of Union Gaming Asia Securities. In an October 29 Tuesday note he said that in the brokerage’s view, that distance is “a key competitive advantage” but did not elaborate.
“Company management noted discerning VIP customers and junkets beginning to choose Okada Manila over peers in the market given the size and amenities of its VIP rooms,” wrote DeCree, adding that “this type of market share gain is sustainable.”
Okada Manila is owned and operated by Universal Entertainment.
Union Gaming says Okada Manila has “made strides” in its electronic gaming machine business.
“We attribute some of the success to recent updates to the loyalty program and slot floor management. We believe there is much more to come on this front and see slots as a notable area of growth potential over the next 12-plus months,” stated DeCree.
