Pagcor sees Q119 income jump almost ten percent

Pagcor has reported its net income for the first three months of 2019 rose 9.5 percent from the same period last year to hit $30m, after a rise in gaming revenue mitigated the growing cost of operation.

The Philippine state owned operator and national regulator saw gaming revenue climb 15.6 percent year-on-year to achieve $352.1m, ten percent higher than the group’s target, thanks to casino income increasing 19 percent to $130.4m.

The revenue rise comes despite a nine percent decline in junket operations to $4.2m, as mass market table gaming contributed $53.5m to the total, seven percent higher than 2018, and slots added $64.4m, up 13.6 percent from last year.

While regulatory fees collected from land-based casinos jumped 19 percent, income from the country’s locally-licensed POGOs increased 17 percent, delivering $25.7m from the slightly fewer than 200 offshore operators.

The Philippine retail network of land-based electronic gaming and bingo verticals also saw significant growth, with revenue for electronic gaming jumping 13.6 percent to $11.1m, while bingo revenue increased 20 percent to $53.5m.

Income from operator taxes hit $186.4m for the period, a 14.7 percent increase on 2018, however total expenses also increased, with the $156.6m deduction figure representing a 15.8 percent rise on Q118.

Total revenue for 2018 increased a staggering 536.6 percent from 2017, reaching $606m, however this figure includes the one-off sale of two parcels of land in Manila to Bloomberry Resorts Corporation for $718m in June of last year.