RWM operator narrows losses

With Philippine casinos allowed a dry run after quarantine, financial results for Travellers International have begun to recover.

The Philippines.- Alliance Global Group, one of the joint venture partners in Travellers International, has reported that the hotel and gaming business in the Philippines saw revenues of Php3.7bn (US$76.8m) in the third quarter, up from 1bn (US$20.75m) in the second quarter.

The owner and operator of Resorts World Manila (RWM) attributed the improvement to Php3.2 billion (US$66.4 million) in gross gaming revenue (GGR). In the same period, the gaming regulator in the Philippines implemented a limited dry run of casino operations with venues operating at 30 per cent capacity and hotels at 50 per cent.

VIP accounted for Php2.2bn (US$45.65 million) and mass gaming for the remaining 1bn (US$20.75 million). In the second quarter of the year, GGR reached only Php600m (US$12.45m).

The numbers are still way below the results from the same quarter in 2019, when total revenue was Php8.9 billion (US$184 million) and GGR Php7.3 billion (US$151.5 million).

Visitation levels remain low, with an average of 4,000 daily visitors in Q3, up from only 1,000 in the second quarter but down from 38,000 last year.

For the first nine months of the year, Travellers reported a net loss of Php5.4 billion (US$112 million), reversing last year’s net income of Php786 million (US$16.3 million).

Total gross revenues reached Php11.5bn (US$238m), down 55 per cent year-on-year, with gross gaming revenues at Php9.3 billion (US$193 million).

Alliance Global Group holds a 50 per cent stake in Travellers.