Bloomberry Resorts Corp will see its biggest GGR declines in the VIP segment in 2020, with ongoing travel restrictions and rising COVID-19 case numbers in Metro Manila seemingly preventing any near-term resumption of inbound tourism.
According to a Monday note from financial services firm Nomura following release of Bloomberry’s 2Q20 financial results late last week, VIP revenue at Solaire Resort & Casino is estimated to fall this year to just 28% of 2019 levels, when the company reported VIP GGR of Php26.2 billion (US$518 million).
That compares with mass table GGR reaching around 52% of the Php16.7 billion (US$330 million) achieved last year, and slot GGR reaching 70% of last year’s Php16.8 billion (US$332 million).
Bloomberry last week reported a 95% decline in GGR for the three months to 30 June 2020 to Php686.6 million (US$14.1 million) in 2Q20, of which VIP contributed Php121.7 million (US$2.5 million), mass table games Php303.7 million (US$6.2 million) and electronic gaming machines Php261.1 million (US$5.3 million).
“Fluidity of lockdown restrictions (amid still rising COVID-19 cases) and continued air transport disruptions will make it challenging for operators to regain capacity in the near-term,” said Nomura analysts Diane Nicole Go and Thomas Huang.
They did, however, predict a better outlook for FY21 with GGR to grow 86% on 2020 levels. Noting Bloomberry’s cash balance of Php31.2 billion (US$641 million), equal to eight months’ worth of normal revenues, Go and Huang described the outlook as “manageable,” adding that, “Balance sheet strength should allow it to weather through COVID-19 uncertainties, in our view.”
