Belle Corp sees net income rise by 13% in 2017

MANILA, Philippines—  Belle Corporation (Belle), the gaming and property unit of the Sy family, has seen its bottom line rise on strong gaming revenues.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Friday, March 2, Belle said its consolidated net income rose 13% to P3.5 billion in 2017, compared to P3.1 billion the previous year.

Excluding capital gains on sales of non-core investments and non-recurring items, Belle’s recurring net income totalled P3.3 billion for 2017, up 58% compared to its recurring net income of P2.1 billion for 2016.

The gaming and real estate holding firm reported consolidated revenues of P8 billion for 2017, up 27% compared to P6.3 billion in 2016.

Belle subsidiary Premium Leisure Corporation, the operator of City of Dreams Manila, reported a 59% increase in its share of gaming earnings to P2.6 billion from P1.6 billion a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the firm’s real estate arm contributed P3.1 billion in revenues, up 10% from P2.8 billion in 2016.

The bulk of this revenue – P2.3 billion – came from Belle’s lease to Melco Resorts and Entertainment Philippines Corporation (Melco) of the land and buildings that comprise City of Dreams Manila in Entertainment City by Manila Bay.

Another P823 million of revenue, it reported, was from real estate sales and property management activities at its Tagaytay Highlands and Tagaytay Midlands residential and leisure complexes.

In April 2017, Belle announced plans to expand the City of Dreams Manila complex and another casino outside Metro Manila.

Late last month, the firm also declared a regular dividend of P 0.12 per share for a total dividend payment of approximately P1.3 billion, payable on March 23 to shareholders of record as of March 9, 2018. – Rappler.com