TRAVELLERS International Hotel Group Inc., the gambling and hotel operations arm of businessman Andrew Tan, said its income grew fivefolds last year as its operations recovered, while gaming revenues grew.
The operator of Resorts World Manila said its income for 2018 reached P1.44 billion against its P279.8 million profit in 2017.
Net revenues, on the other hand, rose 10 percent to P20.56 billion from P18.59 billion in the previous year.
For the fourth quarter alone, revenues increased 28 percent to P6.45 billion from the previous year’s P5.04 billion, driven by the improvement in revenues in both the gaming and non-gaming segments in the second half of the year.
Revenue from gaming activities contributed 81 percent of the gross revenues for 2018, while 19 percent was contributed by non-gaming activities, it said.
“The improved performance was helped by the opening of the ground-floor gaming at the Grand Wing as well as the launch of Hilton Manila and the Sheraton Manila Hotel,” said Kingson Sian, the company’s president and CEO.
“Both hotels added a total of 747 rooms to the company’s hotel portfolio,” he said.
The Grand Wing will have three luxury hotels. In addition to Hilton Manila which opened in October 2018, the Sheraton Manila Hotel is already on its soft opening, while the Hotel Okura Manila will open this year, bringing the Grand Wing hotel-room count to approximately 940. It will include new gaming, entertainment and retail spaces, as well as six basement-parking decks, the company said.
“When the Grand Wing is fully operational, RWM will be the largest and most versatile integrated resort in the country offering our customers thrilling experiences,” Sian said.
Once construction works on all hotels are completed, Resorts World Manila will have the highest number of hotel rooms for a single property in the Philippines, the company said.
Gross gaming revenues increased by 17 percent last year to P20 billion, from P17.11 billion the previous year.
Gross gaming revenues for the fourth quarter of 2018 increased by almost half to P6.26 billion, from P4.31 billion in 2017.
Casino drops for the year ended December 31 improved by 36.8 percent compared with the previous year, driven by the 59-percent increase in the VIP segment, and the 3.7-percent hike from the non-VIP segment.
Gaming capacity increased to 299 tables and 1,822 slot machines as of end 2018 from 244 tables and 1,381 slot machines in 2017, primarily due to the opening of the ground-floor gaming area of the Grand Wing.
Average daily property visitation increased by 10 percent to 28,482 in 2018, from 25,747 in 2017.
Revenue from hotel, food, beverage and others increased by 22 percent to P3.48 billion last year, from the previous P2.85 billion.
For the fourth quarter alone, hotel revenues rose 40 percent to P1.14 billion, from P810.2 million in the previous year. The increase was primarily due to the P257 million in room revenue driven by higher average daily rates, higher occupancy rates and 357 additional rooms from Hilton Manila Hotel.