PhilWeb posts 52% profit growth to P150 million

MANILA, Philippines - PhilWeb Corp., the country’s first and largest listed online technology firm, posted a net income of P150 million in the first quarter of 2010, 52 percent higher than the P99-million profit in the same period last year, as revenues went up 42 percent to P239 million.

PhilWeb president Dennis Valdes attributed the unabated growth of the company’s core businesses to continuous improvements in Pagcor e-Games or PEGS café operations, as well as the opening of new cafés since the beginning of the year, bringing the total to 177 cafés nationwide.

The launch of Home Play, the only peso-based, truly online Pagcor casino, has also boosted revenues. “Player growth in Home Play is very healthy and we foresee that this product will be a major contributor to revenues within this year,” said Valdes.

“We actually projected that new PEGS cafe openings would slow down a bit due to the oncoming elections, but this has not proved to be the case,” Valdes continued. “Our total bet volume and daily player statistics show double-digit increases versus last year, and we are confident that this trend will continue as public awareness of the PEGS increases.”

Valdes also noted that operators of the more popular PEGS cafés have added workstations and even renovated their sites completely, as cases of standing-room-only crowds in many PEGS cafes increase.

“Our other businesses are also performing well,” he pointed out. “Our Instant Premyo Sa Resibo text raffle, which we conduct on behalf of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, has seen consistent volumes as consumers have reacted positively to the instant-win formula. We are proud to have given away several new cars and several more million-peso checks to the winners, together with BIR Commissioner Joel Tan-Torres.”

PhilWeb’s other products include Basketball Jackpot, offered through its network of 185 Internet Sports Betting kiosks, and Bid Wars, a text-based reverse auction. In January, the company also launched a tie-up with MegaSportsWorld to offer sportsbetting through its ISBS and PEGS networks. Additionally, Pagcor has recently given PhilWeb the green light to launch Basketball 38, a new game to be offered throughout its ISBS networks.

“Additionally, we have been focusing on our international expansion strategy, which includes expanding our gaming businesses into several countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Saipan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Nepal and other countries where we are working on obtaining gaming licenses. We have been actively discussing these ventures with various potential partners and foresee that several of these international partnerships will start to bear fruit this year,” Valdes said.

“We are confident that 2010 will be another banner year for PhilWeb and are happy that the results of the first quarter show that our business plans are progressing very solidly.”