Bloomberry’s Solaire North IR to boost earnings, analysts say

Analysts at Morgan Stanley expect the IR to achieve positive EBITDA in the third quarter.

The Philippines.- Morgan Stanley Asia has forecast that Bloomberry Resorts’ new IR, Solaire Resort North, in Quezon City, Philippines, will achieve positive EBITDA in the third quarter. The opening of Bloomberry’s second IR in the Philippines was rescheduled to the second quarter of this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and disruptions in the supply chain.

Analysts Gareth Leung and Praveen Choudhary project an estimated PHP8bn (US$142.2m) in EBITDA for the year 2025. This would represent approximately 40 per cent of the EBITDA generated by the existing Solaire IR in 2023. Analysts estimated the potential return on investment for Solaire North as around 15 per cent, based on the project’s cost of approximately US$1bn. 

The IR is expected to contribute approximately 150 mass tables and 2,500 slot machines in the first half of 2024, improving Bloomberry’s market presence and revenue potential. Despite a slight adjustment in earnings forecasts for 2023 and 2024 to account for the delayed IR opening and slower growth in Entertainment City, Morgan Stanley remains optimistic about Bloomberry’s prospects. 

The casino operator has yet to report fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 figures. It posted a net income of PHP1.86bn (US$33.2m) for the third quarter of 2023, up 19.2 per cent in year-on-year terms but down 45.9 per cent when compared to the previous quarter. The company reported that group-wide consolidated earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) amounted to nearly PHP4.20bn.