Philweb net income down 19% in Q2

MANILA, Philippines - PhilWeb Corp., the gaming solutions provider of the Ongpin Group, posted lower earnings in the second quarter as interest expenses and lower income from an associate offset higher revenues.

In a disclosure, PhilWeb said its net income fell 19 percent to P211.84 million in the second quarter from P262.47 million a year ago.

The decline was due to the P8.72-million net loss recorded under miscellaneous items like equity in net earnings of associates and interest expense, reversing the P44.14-million income last year.

Total revenues increased eight percent to P804.9 million from P745.2 million on the improved performance of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) e-Games cafe business and gaming cafe operator BigGame Inc.

“As of the second quarter, the company’s core business, the Pagcor e-Games stations, grew to 299 cafes,” PhilWeb said, adding that it is higher by 14.4 percent from 282 a year ago.

PhilWeb is the technology provider for Pagcor e-Games cafes, which are Internet cafes exclusively dedicated to casino games such as baccarat, blackjack, video poker and various slot machine games.

The latest data brought PhilWeb’s first half earnings to P431.5 million, down 18 percent from P528.42 million year-on-year.

In the first semester, operating revenues rose eight percent to P804.93 million from P745.24 million but other revenues sank to P10.45 million from P109.21 million.

For this year, PhilWeb said it will attend more trade shows and put up more exhibits to widen the market reach of Genesis, a touch screen console that handles a multitude of gaming applications.

Also on the horizon is the possibility of a bingo machine and the creating of new gaming tables that will provide playing convenience, PhilWeb said.

PhilWeb is the first and largest Internet gaming company in the country. It currently serves more than 40,000 customers a day via its network of online cafe, sports betting kiosks and mobile games nationwide.

Subsidiary PhilWeb Asia Pacific operates a scratch card businesses in Cambodia and Timor Leste, and a Sweeps Center in Guam.