New Duetto unit opens

Listed gaming firm Leisure & Resorts World Corp. (LRWC) said its net income in the first quarter of the year more than doubled to P41.41 million on robust earnings contributions from its bingo and Internet gaming operations.

In a financial report filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange, LRWC said the growth was due to the increase in earnings of AB Leisure Inc. (ABLE) and the consolidation of First Cagayan  Leisure Resources Corp. (FCLRC).

Sales went up 11.1 percent to P839.86 million, P233.02 million of which accounted for franchise and regulatory fees which is an improvement of eight percent from the previous level.

Operating income grew more than two-fold to P50.27 million from only P17.2 million.  

Traditional bingo remains ABLE’s principal product-line with a sales contribution of 72.2 percent or P581 million, 1.4 percent higher than the year-ago level of P572.8 million.

E-bingo total sales, meanwhile, reached P125.9 million, up 11.3 percent from the previous level, largely due to the increase in the number of e-bingo machines and in the higher average sales generated per machine.

As of end-March this year, there were a total of 1,230 e-bingo machines in 32 bingo outlets as compared to 881 machines in 26 bingo parlors in the first  quarter of 2006.

Sales from Rapid Bingo, which was launched in August 2005, contributed P92.3 million or 11.5 percent to total sales as against the previous year’s P58.7 million.

First Cagayan, an international host for Internet gaming providers that cater to online players overseas, registered revenues of P35.3 million in the first quarter, 63 percent higher than the previous level’s P21.6 million.

As of end-March this year, there were 20 licensed locators and seven applicants. Hosting fees from restrictive and interactive gaming locators contributed around 72 percent of total revenues or P25.3 million, while license application and renewal fees accounted for about P10 million or 28 percent.

To ensure long-term growth, LRWC will continue to expand its non-traditional bingo operations within existing sites and set up more hosting facilities to accommodate the growing number of online gaming locators in the country.