Bloomberry eyes Solaire North completion by 2023

Bloomberry Resorts Corp. still eyes 2023 for the completion of Solaire North even amid construction challenges, its top executive said.

During the company’s virtual stockholders’ meeting on Thursday, Bloomberry Chairman Enrique Razon Jr. said construction in Solaire North continues despite a slowed down pace due to the pandemic.

“We are managing it very closely, continue building and we expect that we should be able to complete the facility by 2023,” Razon said.

Solaire North, which is located in Quezon City, will serve as the corporation’s second integrated casino in the country after Solaire Resort and Casino in Parañaque City.

The pandemic also hampered the operations of Bloomberry as it booked an P8.3-billion net loss in 2020 due to quarantine restrictions temporarily suspending the casino operations of Solaire Resort & Casino.

Bloomberry’s consolidated revenues likewise plunged 62 percent to P17.8 billion last year from P46.4 billion in 2019.

Meanwhile, Razon said they will continue to maintain prudence in the management of their operating costs and balance sheet by taking into account the worst case scenario.

“Our management team is focused on bringing revenue and profit levels back up in spite of the limitations, while remaining conscious of our cash preservation goals,” Razon said.

“For additional support, we successfully upsized one of our existing credit facilities to make available a P20-billion credit line that will help us outlive the pandemic,” he continued.
Razon is also banking on the country’s vaccine rollout for the further recovery of the company.

“The further easing of quarantine restrictions and the implementation of travel bubbles within the region will be indispensable to our near-term recovery, both of which are dependent on achieving herd immunity against the virus through the inoculation of a large portion of our population,” he said.

Shares of Bloomberry inched up by 2 centavos or 0.29 percent to finish at P7.02 apiece on Thursday.

Article and Photo originally posted by Manila Times last April 16, 2021 and written by Faye Almazan.