PhilWeb okays cash dividend

MANILA, Philippines - PhilWeb Corp., the country’s first and largest listed online technology firm, has approved a cash dividend of 10 centavos per share worth a total of P125 million.

In its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, PhilWeb said the cash dividends are payable on Sept. 20 to shareholders on record as of Sept. 3.

PhilWeb president Dennis Valdes said this marks the company’s first dividend declaration, coming off the back of four years of growing profits dating back to 2006.

“We are very proud to join the ranks of PSE-listed companies that can be classified as dividend-paying entities. This is just small measure of the thanks we have to our loyal stockholders who have supported us since our listing in 2001,” said Valdes.

“We fully expect to continue this trend of paying dividends on a regular basis from hereon,” he added.

In the first half this year, PhilWeb reported a 41-percent jump in net profit to P322 million on strong revenues from its core gaming operations. Revenues grew 40 percent to P508 million from P362 million.

PhilWeb is a lead technology enabler of state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) whose core businesses include e-Games (PEGS) Cafes, Internet sports betting stations, mobile phone gaming and online casino gaming.

The company’s other products, namely Basketball Jackpot, Premyo Sa Resibo, and the newly-launched Bid Wars mobile game, also boosted PhilWeb’s bottom line.

Valdes said the company’s core businesses continue to do well, and that they are already closely coordinating with the new management of Pagcor on how PhilWeb can continue to be a major contributor to the state-run gambling agency’s bottom line.

“Last year, we contributed over P1 billion to Pagcor from our PEGS business alone. This amount flows directly to Pagcor’s net income, as they do not have any capital expenditures or operating costs associated with this revenue. As of June 2010, our PEGS business alone has remitted over P600 million to Pagcor, a growth rate of 33 percent,” Valdes said.

Valdes said the company has also been focusing on its expansion overseas. It is close to obtaining a gaming license in Cambodia. PhilWeb is also working to obtain gaming licenses in other countries, including Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, Guam, Saipan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Nepal.

The company expects it bottom line to reach over P1 billion this year with the launch of its e-Games Online, operated by subsidiary Philweb Homeplay Inc. which allows Filipinos nationwide to access Pagcor’s traditional casino games like blackjack, baccarat and roulette.

Last year, PhilWeb posted a net profit of P552 million, up 89 percent from the 2008 level. Bulk of earnings, or P523 million, came from core gaming operations which represented an increase of 126 percent over the previous year. The balance of P29 million came from PhilWeb’s equity investment in ISM Corp., amounting to P633 million.