Leisure & Resorts World Corporation (LRWC) said its stockholders have approved the issuance of 691,200,000 common shares to raise up to P1.85 billion in a new round of private placement.
In a statement, LRWC said the issuance was approved through its Special Stockholders’ Meeting held on November 24, 2022.
The approved subscription amount for LRWC’s most recent private placement is P1.70 or 5 percent premium over its 30-trading day Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) per share, whichever is higher.
The company said it had witnessed rapid growth since the launch of BingoPlus, which is a factor on the increase of its stock value as well. With the improved performance, LRWC’s stock price is reported to have a VWAP of P2.55 according to the Philippine Stock Exchange’s calculation. A 5 percent premium over the VWAP would be Php2.68.
Considering the number of common shares approved for this issuance, LRWC expects to raise up to P1.85 billion.
During its Special Stockholders’ Meeting, the Company mentioned that the purpose of another private placement is to further strengthen its technological platforms, to develop better products and services, and to support expansion of the company’s businesses; hence, it anticipates the need to have more ready capital to support the cost of operational and capital expenditures.
The company reported total revenues of P2.9 billion in the third quarter which showed an increase of 491 percent year on year (YoY) as compared to 2021’s P486 million. The increase was mainly from bingo games, electronic games, and the casino businesses of the Company.
While there was slight decrease in the network and licensing sector, the company said it did not have a significant impact on the company’s overall performance.
Additionally, LRWC’s third quarter EBITDA shows a robust growth of 602 percent from last year’s loss of P111 million to a positive P560 million. Most notable of all, the Company achieved its first positive net income of P172 million for the three quarters ended September 30 since the pandemic swept up the world’s economy.
Third quarter of 2022 resulted in a P429 million net income as compared to the previous year’s net loss of P107 million.
The figures for the three quarters this year align with the investment and business strategies that the Company’s Management had outlined. The Company will continue to build on that momentum and invest heavily on technology and new products to support future growth opportunities. “We will continue to strive for improvement and maximize returns for our stakeholders,” said LRWC President, Andy Tsui.