PAGCOR clocks record first quarter income at $433 million with over 40% growth

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCORE) reported a significant increase in income for the first quarter of the year, surpassing ₱25 billion (approximately $433.4 million).

During the first quarter, PAGCOR's income reached ₱25.24 billion, reflecting a substantial 42.6% rise compared to the same period in 2023, when it generated ₱17.70 billion ($306.7 million).

This Q1 income figure stands as PAGCOR's highest ever recorded in a single quarter, surpassing the previous record set in 2019 before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, which was ₱19.49 billion ($337.6 million), representing a 29.5% increase.

Going by this momentum, PAGCOR is expected to achieve an annual income exceeding ₱100 billion ($1.7 billion) for the first time in its 40-year history, easily surpassing the ₱79.37 billion ($1.37 billion) generated in 2023.

Net operating income after expenses amounted to ₱19 billion ($329 million), marking a notable 54.2% increase compared to ₱12.32 billion ($213.4 million) in the same quarter last year.

Gaming operations accounted for the majority of PAGCOR's Q1 revenues, totaling ₱22.29 billion ($386 million). Integrated resorts contributed significantly to this figure, generating ₱8.04 billion ($139.2 million) in revenue, representing 36% of the total gaming revenue.

However, while integrated resorts revenue saw an increase, income from PAGCOR-operated casinos decreased during Q1, accumulating ₱3.70 billion ($641 million) in revenue, or 16.6% of the total, down from 20.7% in 2023.

PAGCOR's net operating income includes a substantial contribution of ₱15.56 billion ($269.5 million) to nation-building, including a 50% government share.

The gaming sector, particularly iGaming, played a significant role in PAGCOR's Q1 revenues, contributing 43.5% of the total gaming operations revenue, amounting to ₱9.69 billion ($168 million).

Alejandro Tengco, Chairman and Chief Executive, said: “We are happy to announce that PAGCOR is able to sustain our growth trajectory in the first quarter of 2024 and this should help position us into achieving another record-breaking year.

“Our robust earnings also bode well for the government’s various socio-civic programmes including funding for the Universal Healthcare Programme which provides health insurance to millions of poor Filipinos through Philhealth."

The record-breaking Q1 performance comes as PAGCOR gears up to transition to a "purely regulatory" body role, hoping to privatize the casinos it runs. Additionally,