Funded with debt
Sales at the new Okada Manila casino resort in the Philippines “are currently expanding on a daily basis,” said Universal Entertainment Corp. in a recent filing to JASDAQ.
The $2.4 billion gaming resort started a “preview period” on December 21; an official grand opening for the property will take place in early 2017, possibly as early as February.
The firm did not provide volume or revenues in its filing; those details will be part of the company’s quarterly reporting period starting April 1.
Universal is financing part of the Manila project with debt, according to GGRAsia. In October the firm said it had concluded a private placement of notes valued at US$400 million to “complete the construction of Okada Manila,” named for Universal Entertainment head and Japanese pachinko tycoon Kazuo Okada.
Last week, Universal announced it was revising upward its forecast for net income in the financial year ending March 31. Income for the period is now expected to more than double compared to a previous estimate to JPY20.0 billion (US$176.3 million) thanks to “brisk sales of new game models” and improved efficiencies in development and manufacturing. The $2.4 billion resort’s grand opening is set for early 2017.
The resort is operated by Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc., a Universal subsidiary. Phase I of the project covers half of the total 44-hectare (109-acre) parcel. Okada Manila is the third of four integrated resorts to open in Entertainment City. It joined Bloomberry Resorts’ Solaire Resort & Casino, which opened in March 2013 and Melco Crown Entertainment’s City of Dreams Manila, which opened in February 2015. The fourth IR will be Resorts World Bayshore, a joint venture by Genting Hong Kong and Alliance Global Inc. It is expected to be complete in 2018.
