LISTED lottery firm Pacific Online Systems Corp. (POSC) saw its net income for the first nine months of 2024 plunge by 98.3 percent due to a transition from a legacy system.
In a stock exchange filing on Friday, POSC said that net income from January to September was just P3.8 million, well below the P228.2 million recorded a year earlier, as total revenues fell 17 percent to P388.4 million.
The weaker results were attributed to a 33-percent surge in cost and expenses to P360.5 million, reflecting the impact of the nationwide operations of PinoyLotto’s Philippine Lottery System (PLS) for the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in October of last year.
“Due to the new system, the company incurred higher depreciation expenses — from P3.1 million in 2023 to P114.5 million in the current period — in line with the depreciation of the new equipment deployed, as well as higher variable costs, such as communications and repairs and maintenance in line with the requirements of PCSO for the PLS,” the company said.
POSC’s total assets dropped 6 percent year on year to P1.78 billion, attributed to a 56-percent decline in investments held for trading due to the sale of its DigiPlus Interactive Corp. shares, while trade and other receivables likewise slipped 16 percent to P238.6 million.
On the other hand, POSC’s cash surged 68 percent to P577.3 million from P349.9 million last year, replenished by proceeds from the sale of Premium Leisure Corp. (PLC) shares to Belle Corp. and offset in part by the payment of dividends to shareholders during the period.
Earlier this year, Sy family-led Belle Corp. issued a tender offer to voluntarily delist its subsidiary PLC, which at the time held a 50.1-percent stake in POSC.
In June, POSC received a notice of award for a P4.088-billion contract with the PCSO.
The company was the sole bidder for PCSO’s five-year lease of the web-based app, e-lotto, a digitized version of traditional lottery games, offering players the convenience, security and transparency of electronic betting.
As of July 12, the trial period for e-lotto had ended upon the instructions of PCSO. This was in preparation for shifting the e-lotto services to a new platform.
POSC shares rose 1 centavo, or 0.29 percent, to P3.43 apiece on Friday.
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