Pacific Online, PCSO extend VisMin lotto deal

MANILA, Philippines - Listed firm Pacific Online Systems Corp. remains the provider of online lottery equipment of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO in Visayas and Mindanao.

“The corporation and the PCSO have agreed to extend the term of their equipment lease agreement from April 1, 2013 to July 31, 2015,” Pacific Online said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

Pacific Online said the lease rate of the online lottery equipment will be reduced by a fifth to 7.7 percent.

The reduction was due to its goal of “continuously strengthening its partnership with the PCSO and assist in its efforts at raising more funds for its charitable activities,” the firm said.

Pacific Online also agreed to bear the costs of all paper consumables and equipment maintenance for the online lottery operations in Visayas and Mindanao.

Profits of Pacific Online grew seven percent to P418.1 million last year from P392.1 million in 2011.

Operating income climbed 22 percent to P562.7 million from P460.3 million due to record high PCSO lotto sales.

“Pacific Online focused on making PCSO’s product lines readily available in the market, driving consolidated revenues to P1.63 billion, 21 percent higher than the P1.35 billion seen in 2011,” the company said.

Aggregate PCSO sales of Lotto and Keno handled by Pacific Online hit P11.7 billion for the year 2012.

The latest data, which is a record high for the company since being a systems provider in 1996, is higher by 23 percent from 2011 levels. Pacific Online earlier targeted P11 billion in sales for 2011.

As of end-December, Pacific Online had 3,035 terminals selling various lottery games operated by PCSO.

Its 75-percent owned subsidiary, Total Gaming Technologies, had 704 terminals selling the Keno game for PCSO.

Pacific Online earlier signed a deal with the PCSO for the rollout of an additional 600 lottery terminals in its concession area.  This was in line with PCSO’s goal of hitting P30 billion in annual revenues to become one of the major contributors to the government’s coffers.

Pacific Online is partly owned by Belle Corp., which is building a $1.3-billion casino and hotel complex in the Manila Bay reclamation area. It also owns a 2.5-percent stake in Leisure and Resorts World Corp.