{"id":777042667,"date":"2026-05-26T10:04:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T13:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777042667"},"modified":"2026-05-26T10:15:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T13:15:10","slug":"sp-revises-universal-entertainment-outlook-amid-challenges-at-okada-manila","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/sp-revises-universal-entertainment-outlook-amid-challenges-at-okada-manila","title":{"rendered":"S&P revises Universal Entertainment outlook amid challenges at Okada Manila"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The ratings agency warned that intense competition in the Philippine casino market and rising operating costs continue to weigh on Okada Manila\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Philippines.- S&P Global has revised its outlook for Universal Entertainment Corporation from stable to negative<\/strong>. Although they affirmed Universal Entertainment\u2019s long-term issuer credit rating at B-, analysts warned that the company\u2019s casino resort business in the Philippines continues to underperform <\/strong>due to fierce market competition and inflationary pressure, which it believes will continue to pressure earnings throughout the fiscal year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okada Manila reported a difficult first quarter, with adjusted EBITDA falling 55.7 per cent year-on-year to JPY2.04bn (US$12.9m). Net sales declined 16 per cent to JPY15.4bn (US$97.2m), while operating profit dropped more than 92 per cent. Casino gross gaming revenue fell 17.2 per cent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

S&P has lowered its forecast for the annual EBITDA contribution from the Philippine resort business to JPY10bn (US$62.9m). It also highlighted the company\u2019s debt burden. Analysts estimate annual interest expenses of JPY15bn (US$94.3m), while capital renewal investments at Okada Manila could add another JPY9bn (US$56.6m) per year in costs. As a result, S&P expects free operating cash flow to remain negative and cash reserves to continue declining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the downgrade in outlook, S&P said the company\u2019s short-term liquidity remains manageable, noting that less than JPY5bn of debt is due within the next 12 months. However, the agency warned that a further downgrade could follow if profitability and cash flow fail to improve.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> Philippine GGR down 16% in Q1<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ratings agency warned that intense competition in the Philippine casino market and rising operating costs continue to weigh on Okada Manila\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":680,"featured_media":777025315,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"S&P Global has revised its outlook for Universal Entertainment Corporation from stable to negative, affirming its B- long-term issuer credit rating. This revision is driven by Okada Manila's underperformance in the Philippine casino market, attributed to intense competition, rising operating costs, and a significant debt burden, leading to declining EBITDA and negative free operating cash flow.","focusai_entities":"S&P Global, Universal Entertainment Corporation, Okada Manila","focusai_location":"Philippines","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (1.0), regulator (0.7), operator_casino (1.0), investor_analyst (1.0), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Debt Mitigation Strategy?","query":"What specific strategies will Universal Entertainment implement to address its substantial debt burden and negative free operating cash flow to avert further credit rating downgrades?"},{"label":"Philippine Market Dynamics?","query":"What are the precise competitive pressures within the Philippine casino market that are contributing to Okada Manila's GGR decline, and how are other licensed operators navigating these conditions?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[157,16333],"tags":[8986,24804,23749],"class_list":["post-777042667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-okada-manila","tag-the-philippines","tag-universal-entertainment-corporation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777042667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/680"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777042667"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777042667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777042690,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777042667\/revisions\/777042690"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777025315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777042667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777042667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777042667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}