Universal turns to 2022 profit as Okada Manila revenue doubles

February 15, 2023 Philippines Earnings & Filings

Japan’s Universal Entertainment Corp, the founding parent of the Okada Manila casino resort in the Philippines, posted a net profit of nearly JPY11.51 billion (US$86.6 million) for full-year 2022. That compared with a JPY19.05-billion loss in the prior year, the firm said in a Tuesday filing.

Group-wide sales in 2022 were just below JPY141.00 billion, up 55.9 percent year-on-year, and operating profit stood at JPY12.09 billion, an increase of 516.7 percent from 2021.

The growth in group-wide sales was supported by an increase in revenue from Okada Manila.

Universal Entertainment’s integrated resort business generated net sales of JPY71.77 billion for full-2022, up 103.7 percent from the prior year. The mass-market segment was a “major reason” for the increase in sales, stated the firm.

The segment reported an operating profit of JPY3.78 billion, compared with an operating loss of JPY1.87 billion in 2021. Adjusted segment earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was JPY19.35 billion, an increase of 263.1 percent year-on-year.

Adjusted segment EBITDA at Okada Manila for full-year 2022 “was higher than before the pandemic,” said Universal Entertainment.

In January, the group said fourth-quarter gross gaming revenue (GGR) at Okada Manila rose 49.7 percent year-on-year, contributing to a full-year tally that went up by 81.5 percent. The property’s adjusted EBITDA was 25.2 percent higher than for full-year 2019, before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In Tuesday’s filing, Universal Entertainment confirmed that it has recorded an extraordinary loss of nearly JPY1.53 billion for 2022, associated with what it called the “illegal occupation” of the casino complex by people acting on behalf of the group’s ousted founder Kazuo Okada.

“The performance of this business was impacted by the illegal occupation of this property from May 31 to September 2, 2022 by a group acting under the instructions of Kazuo Okada,” stated the company. Universal Entertainment was affirmed as in control of Okada Manila in early September.

Despite returning to profit in 2022, the Japanese conglomerate decided not to declare a year-end dividend, after taking into consideration the impact of Covid-19 on its business, as well as the group’s future financial commitments.