Japan’s Universal Entertainment Corp cited the underperformance of both gaming and non-gaming segments at its Philippine integrated resort Okada Manila after seeing 1.2% decline in net sales in 1H25 to JPY62.2 billion (US$421 million) and suffering a net loss for the period.
In a series of filing, the company noted that net sales at Okada Manila fell 16.9% year-on-year to JPY34.6 billion, resulting in an operating loss of JPY 1.32 billion (US$8.9 million) compared with a profit of JPY3.28 billion (US$22.2 million) a year earlier. Adjusted segment EBITDA of JPY7.30 billion (US$49.4 million) was also down 37.7%.
Manila’s licensed casinos have faced a challenging year in 2025, with the ban on offshore gaming operators, or POGOs, having inadvertently impacted the land-based VIP gaming sector. The country has also seen a considerable decline in visitors from South Korea and China this year.
In its filing, Universal said, “The overall Entertainment City, where Okada Manila is located, experienced sluggish inbound customer traffic. Additionally, the decline in gaming revenue from the VIP market could not be offset by revenue from the mass market, and the hotel and F&B businesses also underperformed, which was directly reflected in the financial results.”
The decline at Okada Manila offset gains in the company’s Amusement Equipment Business – which develops pachinko and pachislot titles – where net sales grew by 30.8% year-on-year to JPY27.2 billion (US$184 million) and operating profit 37.6% to JPY5.18 billion (US$35.1 million). The total number of units sold during the period was 55,589, of which 36,966 came during Q2.
Universal explained that the “market environment for pachislot machines is favorable because of the steadily progressing diffusion of smart pachislot machines as well as the high utilization rate of these machines in the pachinko parlors that meets the expectation from the parlor operators.
“In the pachinko machine market, although progress was seen in the diffusion of smart pachinko machines, such as the appearance of hit models from smart pachinko machines equipped with Lucky Trigger (LT) function, utilization of pachinko machines remained somewhat sluggish.”
Group-wide, Universal reported an operating profit of JPY847 million (US$5.7 million) in 1H25, down 74.0%, with a net loss attributable to owners of parent of JPY9.87 billion (US$66.8 million).
In order to improve performance at Okada Manila, the company said it is “recruiting and training people to strengthen marketing capabilities in the gaming business. These activities enable allowing us to attract more people living in areas other than Luzon Island of the Philippines, where Manila is located, to serve a broader range of local guests who live in the Philippines as well as tourists from Japan, South Korea and other Southeast Asian countries.
“During the second quarter, the renovation of the Coral Lounge was completed, and it was reopened aiming to attract more customers to spend a longer time in the casino space.”
Okada Manila operator Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc last week announced the impending departure of President and COO Byron Yip, to be replaced by current Universal CFO Nobuki Sato.
RelatedPosts
