State-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. is on track to exceeding its pre-pandemic financial performance after its net income climbed 35.64 percent in the first half of 2023 to P36.21 billion from P26.70 billion a year ago.
PAGCOR chairman and chief executive Alejandro Tengco said income in the first six months were just P2.59 billion, or 6.68 percent, shy of its pre-pandemic output of P38.81 billion in 2019.
Tengco said it is highly possible to reach or surpass the agency’s pre-pandemic income by the end of 2023. He said the agency was expecting at least P272.74 billion in revenues this year.
“We have already hit approximately P136.37 billion gross gaming revenue or GGR in the first semester. With the favorable business environment that we have right now, we are hopeful that we can reach or even surpass our revenue targets and contribute more to nation-building,” he said.
“PAGCOR will certainly ride on the tide of our country’s economic growth. As economic activities reach pre-pandemic levels, we are optimistic that we can sustain the gaming industry’s growth momentum as we fortify our regulatory policies to attract more investors in the Philippines,” he said.