Bloomberry narrows Q2 loss as gaming revenue rises

MANILA — Bloomberry Resorts Corp. narrowed its consolidated net loss to PHP 345.3 million in the second quarter of 2026 from PHP 1.4 billion a year earlier as higher gaming hold rates and cost controls lifted revenue and operating earnings despite continued weakness in its VIP and premium mass businesses.

Gross gaming revenue, or GGR, rose 15% to PHP 16.4 billion from PHP 14.3 billion in the second quarter of 2025, while net revenue increased 11% to PHP 14.1 billion from PHP 12.7 billion.

The improvement stands out against a weaker Philippine gaming market and suggests Bloomberry gained ground even without a broad recovery in customer demand. Philippine industry GGR fell 20.33% to PHP 88.13 billion in the second quarter from PHP 110.63 billion a year earlier, according to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., making Bloomberry’s reliance on higher hold rates and disciplined spending particularly important to sustaining earnings.

The results also carry implications beyond shareholders because the gaming industry generates taxes, license fees, employment, tourism spending, and government remittances. PAGCOR reported PHP 30.16 billion in contributions to nation-building in the first half of 2026 even as its own total revenues fell 26.64% to PHP 43.32 billion from PHP 59.05 billion, underscoring the public-fiscal exposure to changes in gaming activity.

Bloomberry’s cash operating expenses rose only 5% to PHP 10.7 billion in the second quarter from PHP 10.2 billion a year earlier.

Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or EBITDA, increased 35% to PHP 3.4 billion from PHP 2.5 billion, mainly because of higher GGR and cost-optimization measures.

For the first half, however, consolidated GGR was unchanged at PHP 31.1 billion from the same period in 2025.

First-half consolidated net revenue edged up 1% to PHP 27.2 billion from PHP 27.0 billion.

Consolidated EBITDA for the first six months fell to PHP 6.4 billion from PHP 6.9 billion a year earlier, equivalent to a 7% year-over-year decline.

Bloomberry posted a first-half consolidated net loss of PHP 470.3 million, reversing net income of PHP 1.9 billion in the same period in 2025.

The first-half bottom line included a PHP 403.0 million gain in the first quarter of 2026 from the sale of the Jeju Sun gaming license through a demerger and share purchase arrangement.

The year-earlier comparison included a PHP 2.9 billion one-time, non-cash gain recognized in the first quarter of 2025 from the refinancing of Bloomberry’s PHP 40 billion syndicated loan facility.

Bloomberry, whose subsidiaries own and operate Solaire Resort Entertainment City, Solaire Resort Quezon City, and Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino, reported the unaudited results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026.

The group also operates the Solaire Online and FUNaloMax online gaming platforms.

“We delivered GGR growth in the second-quarter, supported by stronger hold rates across our gaming operations. However, underlying demand in the VIP and premium mass segments remained soft. Assertive cost management complemented higher revenues, driving EBITDA growth both sequentially and year-over-year,” Bloomberry Chairman and CEO Enrique K. Razon Jr. said.

A casino’s hold rate generally measures the share of money wagered that the operator retains, meaning stronger hold can lift GGR even when underlying betting volumes remain weak.

“Our focus on operating efficiency continues to drive results. Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment characterized by elevated oil prices, higher interest rates, and weaker peso, we limited cash operating expense growth to just 5% and 3% for the quarter and the first half, respectively, underscoring the effectiveness of our cost optimization initiatives.”

The macroeconomic pressures cited by Razon remained visible in official indicators, with Philippine inflation at 6.2% in July and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ target reverse repurchase rate at 4.75% as of Aug. 14. The peso stood at PHP 61.2890 to USD 1 on the same date.

“Looking ahead, we remain focused on disciplined execution. Alongside continued cost optimization, we are advancing our digital strategy with the recent commercial launch of FUNaloMax on our proprietary platform which will be joined by Solaire Online on the same platform in the coming weeks. We anticipate that these initiatives will enhance the patron experience and position Bloomberry to capture incremental revenue growth in the quarters ahead.”

Bloomberry’s second-quarter contra-revenue accounts increased 23% year over year to PHP 3.7 billion.

Contra-revenue represented 23% of consolidated GGR, up from 21% in the same quarter last year.

Non-gaming revenue stood at PHP 3.2 billion in the second quarter, unchanged from a year earlier.

First-half non-gaming revenue increased 4% year over year to PHP 6.4 billion.

Cash operating expenses for the first half rose 3% to PHP 20.8 billion.

Bloomberry said most of the increase in cash operating expenses came from higher taxes and licenses, salaries and benefits, and software and hardware maintenance costs.

Savings, mostly in cost of sales, partly offset those increases.

The company made no provision for bad debt in the second quarter.

Bloomberry continued to benefit from previous loan refinancing, with second-quarter interest expense of PHP 1.9 billion.

That represented interest savings of PHP 51.4 million compared with the second quarter of 2025.

First-half interest expense amounted to PHP 3.6 billion, representing savings of PHP 409.5 million from the first six months of 2025.

Bloomberry reported a basic loss per share of PHP 0.032 in the second quarter, compared with a loss of PHP 0.134 a year earlier.

The basic loss per share for the first half was PHP 0.044, compared with earnings per share of PHP 0.181 in the first half of 2025.

At Solaire Resort Entertainment City, second-quarter GGR increased 18% to PHP 11.5 billion from PHP 9.8 billion a year earlier.

VIP rolling chip volume at the Entertainment City property rose 12% year over year to PHP 71.3 billion.

Its VIP hold rate increased to 3.61% from 2.23% in the second quarter of 2025.

VIP GGR jumped 81% to PHP 2.6 billion from PHP 1.4 billion.

Mass table drop at Solaire Resort Entertainment City fell 4% year over year to PHP 7.6 billion.

The mass table hold rate improved to 55.3% from 49.2% in the same period last year.

Mass table GGR increased 8% to PHP 4.2 billion from PHP 3.9 billion.

Electronic gaming machine coin-in declined 12% year over year to PHP 71.6 billion.

The electronic gaming machine hold rate rose to 6.6% from 5.5% in the second quarter of 2025.

Electronic gaming machine GGR increased 6% to PHP 4.7 billion from PHP 4.5 billion.

Non-gaming revenue at Solaire Resort Entertainment City declined 6% to PHP 2.0 billion from PHP 2.1 billion.

Net revenue at the property increased 12% to PHP 9.2 billion from PHP 8.2 billion.

Solaire Resort Entertainment City generated EBITDA of PHP 2.4 billion, up 40% from PHP 1.7 billion in the same quarter last year.

Solaire Resort Quezon City generated second-quarter GGR of PHP 4.9 billion, up 9% from the same period in 2025.

VIP rolling chip volume at the Quezon City resort reached PHP 8.6 billion, double the PHP 4.3 billion recorded a year earlier.

Its VIP hold rate increased to 5.38% from 4.86% in the second quarter of 2025.

VIP GGR rose 122% to PHP 460.0 million from PHP 207.3 million.

Mass table drop at Solaire Resort Quezon City fell 23% year over year to PHP 5.4 billion.

The resort’s mass table hold rate increased to 33.0% from 26.7% a year earlier.

Mass table GGR declined 5% to PHP 1.8 billion from PHP 1.9 billion.

Electronic gaming machine coin-in increased 7% year over year to PHP 42.9 billion.

The electronic gaming machine hold rate edged up to 6.2% from 6.1% in the second quarter of 2025.

Electronic gaming machine GGR increased 9% to PHP 2.7 billion from PHP 2.4 billion.

Non-gaming revenue at Solaire Resort Quezon City climbed 9% to PHP 1.1 billion from PHP 1.0 billion.

Net revenue increased 8% to PHP 4.7 billion from PHP 4.3 billion.

Solaire Resort Quezon City generated EBITDA of PHP 1.3 billion, up 19% from PHP 1.1 billion in the second quarter of 2025.

In South Korea, Solaire Korea’s Jeju Sun recorded second-quarter net revenue of PHP 159.2 million, up 24% from PHP 128.3 million a year earlier.

Jeju Sun generated EBITDA of PHP 2.8 million, reversing an LBITDA, or loss before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, of PHP 41.4 million in the second quarter of 2025.

The period marked Jeju Sun’s first full quarter after it exited the casino business.

It was also the first time the property generated positive EBITDA since Bloomberry acquired it in 2015.

As of June 30, 2026, Bloomberry held PHP 31.4 billion in consolidated cash and cash equivalents.

Total outstanding long-term debt stood at PHP 104.8 billion, representing the current and non-current balances of its PHP 72.0 billion and PHP 40.0 billion syndicated refinancing facilities.

Total equity attributable to holders of the parent company was PHP 59.0 billion.

Bloomberry had PHP 1.3 billion in net receivables as of June 30, down PHP 5.6 million from the start of the year.

Allowances covered 80% of all receivables outstanding for more than 90 days.

The stronger casino-specific numbers came as the wider Philippine gaming mix shifted sharply during the quarter. Licensed casinos generated PHP 45.37 billion, or 51.49% of industry GGR, while electronic gaming, including e-games, e-bingo, bingo, and poker, generated PHP 39.85 billion, or 45.21%.

PAGCOR-operated casinos accounted for the remaining PHP 2.90 billion, or 3.30%, of second-quarter

For Bloomberry, the second-quarter recovery therefore reflects improved monetization and tighter cost control more clearly than a broad-based rebound in gaming demand, leaving customer volumes, financing costs, digital expansion, and the wider consumer environment as key factors for the remainder of 2026.