PhilWeb turnaround seen this year

MANILA, Philippines — PhilWeb Corp., the first company that became the subject of President Duterte’s ire, aims to finally post a financial turnaround this year, three years after it reopened.

In a briefing with reporters, PhilWeb’s incoming president Brian Ng expressed confidence that the company’s steady efforts to grow the business would finally pay off this year.

“We’ve put a turnaround plan in place so we see our turnaround happening this year,” Ng told reporters.

PhilWeb announced the election of Ng as president effective Feb. 1  following the resignation of Dennis Valdes, who transferred to Alphaland Corp.

At present, PhilWeb has 67 e-games sites and about 23 e-bingo stations. PhilWeb also supplies e-bingo terminals.

As part of the turnaround plan, the company is looking for more sites and is in talks with a strategic partner that will help it grow the business.

The strategic partner will help grow both the e-games and e-bingo businesses.

In 2016, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. decided not to renew PhilWeb’s license amid Duterte’s tirades against Ongpin and PhilWeb.

Businessman Gregorio Araneta III stepped in and took over PhilWeb as its new owner.

Since the company reopened in 2017, the company has been  focused on returning to profitability.

According to its  third quarter financial statements for 2019, revenue grew 48 percent to P149 million, while EBITDA increased  to P19 million from a loss of P9.6 million a year ago. The company, however, still posted a net loss during the quarter.

The third quarter results marked the highest quarterly EBITDA achieved by the company in the past three years.

Araneta said that aside from  revenue from e-games outlets and e-casino software services, PhilWeb also has revenue streams from e-bingo outlets and a network of over a thousand e-bingo machines deployed throughout the country.

Ng was formerly connected with Affinity Express Philippines Inc., RR Donnelley Global Outsourcing, SPi, and the Print Town Group of Companies. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the Ateneo de Manila University and MBA from the Ateneo de Manila Graduate School of Business.