A one-time gain from services rendered to the company’s Westside City integrated resort project in Manila’s Entertainment City helped Travellers International Hotel Group return to profit in 2Q21, despite minimal gaming operations at Resorts World Manila due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to information provided by Alliance Global Group, which forms one half of the Travellers joint venture alongside Genting Hong Kong, gross revenue fell 12% quarter on quarter to Php4.6 billion (US$91.2 million), including GGR of Php3.4 billion (US$67.4 million), although this was still a five-fold improvement from the second quarter of 2020.
RWM, it said, “felt the heavy weight of the re-imposed lockdown when it virtually had no gaming operations for most of the second quarter.”
The one-off gain of Php4.8 billion (US$95.2 million) proved crucial, pushing Travellers to a 2Q21 profit of Php3.74 billion (US$74.2 million). This also boosted the company’s profit for the first six months of 2021 to Php2.6 billion (US$51.6 million), reversing a loss of Php3.7 billion (US$73.4 million) over the same period last year.
Alliance Global Group, which also owns property giant Megaworld Corporation, spirits manufacturing firm Emperador Inc, McDonald’s Philippines and infrastructure development company Infracorp Development Corporation, ultimately tripled its net income during the first half of 2021 to Php12.8 billion (US$253.8 million) on a 16% increase in consolidated revenues to Php71 billion (US$1.41 billion).